Heartbreaker
by BansheeFromHell
Summary: AU. Axel is a player. He is a master in the art of seducing girls and breaking their hearts. However, the girl he has his eye on is the only girl in the school that isn't interested in him at all. He tries every trick in the book to win her over, but what happens when he actually starts to fall in love? Axel/OC.
1. Transfer

**Banshee: Hi everybody! I have an new story for you~! I hope you like it~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

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><p>Chapter One: Transfer<p>

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><p>My name is Nicole Hale, but you can call me 'Nikki' - actually, I would prefer it if you called me that.<p>

I live on the main island, just a short boat ride away from Destiny Island. My school is called 'Destiny High.' My friends and I all go there.

Here, let me describe all of us for you, starting with me.

I am seventeen. My birthday is February 16th. My favorite animal is the rabbit. I am farsighted, so I need reading glasses. I'm also allergic to shellfish, I have a deep dislike of the entire horror genre, and I despise anything pink. I have long light brown hair that goes halfway down my back, and blue eyes. As for height, I am 5'1'' and my weight is none of your business. I have an average body type.

Sandy is my best friend. We've been together since we first met in kindergarten. She is the same age and height as me, with a similar body type to mine but with more curves. Her hair is a fiery red, and she has green eyes. Like pretty much everyone else in town, she has tan skin.

Cassandra, or 'Cassie,' is the smartest girl in our group. She always has her head in a book. She is also tan, which is a sharp contrast to her blonde hair and blue eyes. Not only is Cassie the smartest girl in our group, she is also the thinnest. She's the good kind of thin; the natural thinness that doesn't come from dieting, or throwing up.

Maggie is the resident fashionista. She, along with her fashion designer mother, designs clothes. She is the only black girl in the school. The only thing darker than her skin is her hair, which is pitch black. Her eyes are a chocolate brown. Compared to Cassie, she is the second-thinnest girl in the group, and, like Cassie, she is naturally thin.

Harriet is 5'8'', making her the tallest girl in our group. She is also the oldest; 19. Like me, she is one of the lightest people in town. Her nickname is 'Harry,' but the only ones that can call her that are Cassandra, Sandy, Maggie, and, of course, me. Anyone else that calls her 'Harry' invokes her Gothic wrath, which you _never_ want to do. She has black hair with blue streaks, and she keeps it styled in curled pigtails. Her eyes are gray. Her body type is average.

There. That's me and my friends.

Now, on with the story!

Mid-September. It's been nearly three weeks since the end of summer vacation, and everyone had finally settled back into the academic mindset.

Friday.

It was lunchtime. I had already finished my lunch and went to the school's courtyard to read.

The courtyard was big, littered with benches made of either wood or concrete, palm trees, and an assortment of other tropical plants. Everything was lush and green, thanks to the gardener, and the flowers generated an array of pleasant scents. In the center of the courtyard was a large marble fountain consisting of three dolphins, the one in the middle being the largest. The dolphins were spitting out water, which fell into the pool below them to be recycled and go through the spitting process again. Coming here was always my favorite part of the day. Sandy was still eating her lunch, as far as I knew, and the others still had class or they were attending some other school activity.

Taking a seat on one of the wooden benches, I put my bag down, took out my book, opened it, and proceeded to read. All I could hear were the sounds of the birds chirping, the bees buzzing, and the water in the fountain.

Everything was quiet… until I heard the sound of a twig being snapped and looked up.

"Yo Nikki! Did you hear the news?"

I almost had a heart attack. There was Sandy, about three inches from my face, shouting in her 'Omigod-I-am-so-excited!' voice. I dropped the book out of shock, effectively losing my place. The bookmark was useless because I took it out and set it aside. Being angry about it would have to wait, though, for I was kind of curious about what the 'news' was.

"News? What news?"

"You mean you haven't heard?" She exclaimed. "We're getting some new students. They're gonna be here on Monday."

"And I care… why?"

"God, you're just like Harry; you're never excited about anything."

"I don't get excited about anything school-related."

Sandy let out a huff and put her hands on her hips. She gave me a look, which I ignored, and started tapping her foot against the grass.

"C'mon, Nikki. What if one of them is a guy?"

"So what if it's a guy?"

"Oh, you're impossible.."

The shrill sound of the bell ringing interrupted our conversation, and we gathered our things and headed off to History class. On the way, Sandy kept going on and on about boys, and how I'll never get a boyfriend because I'm so cold and nasty to any boy that isn't Sora, Riku, Tidus, Wakka or Vanitas (Sora's twin brother). When we met up with the others, Sandy kept complaining until Harry smacked her in the back of the head.

"Oww~!" The redhead whined. "What was that for?"

Harriet crossed her arms. "For pestering Nikki. If she wants a boyfriend, she can go out and get one herself when she's ready."

"I'm only trying to help.."

We all froze when we heard our history teacher coming down the hallway, humming his usual uppity tune.

"Crap! It's Mr. Jameson!" Maggie exclaimed. "Quick, get in before he sees us!"

We hurried into the classroom and managed to make it into our assigned seats before Mr. Jameson entered the room.

"Good morning, class~!" Mr. Jameson chirped as he put his things on his desk. "I have some fun activities planned for today. Now open your books to page seventy-four…"

…

- After School -

…

After school, I walked home with my friends. We spent some time talking about the new students that were going to be arriving next week.

"What do you think the new students are going to be like?" Sandy asked.

"If one of them is a guy, I hope he's cute.." Maggie mused. "Oh! And a musician. I _love_ musicians."

"I just hope they're not preppy kids. We have enough of those." Harriet said.

"I just hope they're nice." Said Cassandra.

"I really don't care." I said. "More students means more people that think we're bunch of freaks."

"Freaks?" Maggie said. She shook her head and waved her hand dismissively. "Nah, girl. _We're_ the normal ones. It's _everybody else_ that's a bunch of freaks."

"Amen to that, sister." I agreed.

We all laughed as we continued down the road.

…

- Meanwhile, At Radiant Garden High -

- Normal POV -

…

It was the end of the day, and a group of young boys were heading over to their lockers; a redhead, a boy with a mullet-like hairstyle, one with steel-blue hair, and the shortest boy who had blue eyes and messy 'I just got out of bed' hair.

"I can't believe this…" The redhead mumbled angrily as he opened his locker. "I can't believe our parents transferred us to a different school without even telling us!"

"Nothing we can do about it now." Said the boy with the 'Emo' haircut.

"This is such a drag…" Mullet-boy groaned as he emptied the contents of his locker.

"Everything's a drag to you, Demyx."

"Aw, come on guys. You're looking at this the wrong way." Said the young blonde. "Maybe this 'new school' thing won't be so bad. Think of all the new people we're going to meet."

"Maybe you're right, Roxas." The redhead seemed to agree. "Meeting some new people will be a good thing. It's been a while since I've had some fresh tail.."

Roxas gave his spiky-haired friend a look. "Is sex all you can think about?"

"What can I say? The ladies love me."

Roxas rolled his eyes.

"Let's get this done." He said. "I have to go meet Ven after school; we have to help Dad load up the car."

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm a little nervous." Demyx admitted.

"Why would you be nervous?" Emo-boy asked.

"As of next week, we're officially the new kids; everybody picks on the new kids."

"You're not going to get picked on."

"How do you know, Zexion?"

"Bullying isn't a big problem where we're going. When we get there, just be calm, and don't give the other boys a reason to dunk your head in a toilet."

"… Thanks, Zex… I feel better now… I think.."

The group gathered the rest of their things and exited the school; for the last time. On the way out, Roxas spotted his father's car, with his twin brother waving at him from the back seat.

"Well, there's Dad. See you guys later."

…

…


	2. New Students

**Banshee: Chapter 2, yay~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

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><p>Chapter Two: New Students<p>

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><p>…<p>

- Normal POV -

…

Monday.

It was Health Class.

Nikki and her friends were sitting in their usual spot; one cluster of desks by the window. They were up to their usual antics. Nikki was doodling mindlessly in her notebook, Harriet just stared out the window, Maggie was reading the latest issue of _Marie Claire_, Sandy was blowing kisses and exchanging flirty text messages with her boyfriend Riku, and Cassandra was the only one that was actually paying attention.

The Health teacher was Mrs. Sanchez. She is a tall, lanky woman, presumably in her early thirties, with long straight black hair and librarian glasses. She is always seen wearing a simple blouse and skirt, no matter what time of the year it was.

Mrs. Sanchez was in the middle of one of her famous lectures when there was a knock on the door. She stopped the lecture and answered the door, where the principal was waiting on the other side.

"Hello Mr. Cooper." She greeted.

"Good morning, Molly." The principal greeted back.

Mr. Cooper is a short chubby man, who always dresses in nice suits and keeps his hair neat and tidy.

"The new students have arrived, and they have all been assigned to your class." He gestured to the group of boys behind him. "I took it upon myself to escort them here. You'll be able to handle them from here, I hope?"

Molly smiled. "Of course, Harry." She gestured to the students. "Hello, boys. I am the Health teacher, Mrs. Sanchez. Come on in."

She led them inside the classroom and they stood in a line in front of the room as Mrs. Sanchez quieted the class and directed their attention to her.

"Attention everyone."

The students stopped what they were doing and looked at her.

"We have some new students."

Mrs. Sanchez pointed to the twins first. They were identical; freakishly so, with the same height, build, hair style and color (dirty blonde, and windswept), and eye color (blue). The only differences that could be seen were the pendants around their necks; the twin on the left wore a 'x'-shaped pendant while the twin on the right wore one in the shape of a heart. "This is Roxas," the one on the left, "and Ventus," the one on the right.

She then pointed to the next boy in the line. He was the second-shortest one in the group (the twins are the same height, so they count as one). His eyes were bright aqua, but his messy layered bangs covered the right side of his face so only his left eye was visible. His hair was a steel-blue color, and his facial expression was unreadable. "Zexion."

The next boy was taller. His eyes were green, and his hair was dirty blonde and styled in a mullet/Mohawk, with stray hairs hanging in his face. Unlike the others, who stood up straight, he was slouching and had his hands in his pockets as he lazily swung one leg back and forth. This guy's facial expression was obvious. He was bored. Bored out of his fucking mind. "Demyx."

Then she pointed to the last boy in the line. His most notable feature was his bright red hair, which went down to his shoulders and was slicked back and styled in spikes. It was also noted that he had a prominent widow's peak. Some stray strands of hair were hanging in his face. His eyes were a bright emerald green, and underneath said eyes were purple reverse-teardrop shaped markings. He sported a cocky smirk, which, while the other girls found it sexy, Nikki found it irritating. "And Axel."

Maggie leaned over and whispered to Nikki, "Oooh~, they're all so good looking~! I wonder which one is the musician…"

Nikki rolled her eyes. Sure, they were attractive, but something about the redhead set off a few mental red flags.

Sandy shrugged. "I don't have an opinion. I already have a man." She blew another kiss to said 'man,' who winked in response. "But the twins are absolutely adorable~!"

Mrs. Sanchez continued her introduction. "They just transferred here from Radiant Garden. I want you all to make them feel welcome. Go ahead boys, sit anywhere you like."

At the invitation, the boys walked around the room, setting their stuff down and settling into their new desks. As soon as she saw that the new students were seated, Mrs. Sanchez resumed the lecture.

…

- Lunchtime -

- Nikki's POV -

…

Lunch started at ten thirty, and ran until one, giving us more than three hours. Most of the morning classes ended at eleven o'clock, but some didn't end until noon. The classes would alternate, so, depending on which day it was, you either ate lunch early or you ate it late.

Today was one of the days that my friends and I were able to eat lunch at the same time.

We were just sitting there, minding our own business until we heard a cough. Looking up, we saw that it was one of the twins. He wore a heart-shaped pendant, so it must have been 'Ventus.' We had no way of knowing for sure. For all we knew, he and his brother switched their pendants so they could fuck with people. Twins are cute, but they can be evil.

"Hi there." He greeted nervously.

I looked around, trying to see if he was looking somewhere else.

"… You talking to us?" I asked.

He nodded. "Uh-huh. Mind if I sit with you guys?"

"Shouldn't you be sitting with your freakishly identical twin brother?" I inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"I would, but he's sitting with his friends and I always feel left out.. So… can I sit here?"

"Sure." I said.

He smiled. Damn he's cute. "Thanks."

He pulled up a chair and sat down between me and Maggie.

"So what's your name, cutie?" Maggie asked.

He blushed at the pet name, and stuttered, "Uh… I-I'm Ventus, but you can call me 'Ven.'"

"I'm Nikki. These are my friends: Sandy, Harriet, Cassandra, and Maggie."

"Where are you from?" Sandy asked.

"My brother and I moved here from Radiant Garden." Ven said. "It's a nice place, but we got transferred here because it was getting a little crowded. I wasn't too happy when I found out because I didn't want to leave Terra and Aqua behind."

"Terra and Aqua?"

"My friends. They're older than me.. They're seniors, and I'm a sophomore. What grade are you guys in?"

I gestured to myself and my friends. "We're all seniors."

"Hey, Nikki!" I heard a voice call out from behind me. I turned around and saw Sora and his brother Vanitas walking towards us.

They are twins too, but, unlike Roxas and Ventus, Sora and Vanitas have more noticeable differences. Sora's hair was brown and his eyes were blue, while Vanitas has yellow eyes and black hair. They also wear pendants, but Sora's is in the shape of a key, and his brother's is shaped like a broken heart. They are polar opposites personality-wise; Sora being the sweet, loveable little goody-two-shoes, and Vanitas being the 'punk' or 'bad boy,' always including either sarcasm, insults, or a swear word in every sentence.

"Hey guys." I greeted. "What's up?"

Sora scratched the back of his head. "Nikki, can we borrow five bucks?"

"Why?"

"We were _supposed_ to buy lunch, but _somebody_ went and spent all our money on cigarettes.." He grumbled, glaring accusingly at Vanitas, who shrugged.

"I need my smokes, bro." The raven said nonchalantly. "You know how I get when I go without nicotine for too long. Now quit bitching about it; you sound like a fucking girl."

"Sora? Vanitas?" Ven exclaimed when he saw them.

"Ven?" Sora and Vanitas said in unison.

"You guys know each other?" I asked.

"They're my cousins." Said Ven.

Sandy raised an eyebrow. "You're related to these two goofballs? I feel sorry for you, kid."

"Hey!" Sora exclaimed dejectedly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Are you gonna give us the five bucks or not?" Vanitas asked impatiently. "I'm starving."

"Fine." I grumbled, taking out a five dollar bill and handing it to him. "I'll just chalk it up to the money you owe me. Let's see, now you're up to… fifty-five."

"I know how much I owe you. I'll pay you back… eventually."

Sora translated. "In other words, 'never..'"

"I know."

"See you guys later." Sora said as he and Vanitas walked away.

After a few seconds of silence, Ven asked in an adorably clueless manner, "…Vanitas is a smoker?"

"You didn't know that?" Sandy said.

"We live pretty far away from each other, so I didn't see them very often. There was no way I could have known. Now that I think about it, it makes sense. Vanitas is always doing things he isn't supposed to."

I sighed. "That's Vanitas, for you…"

…

- Meanwhile -

- Normal POV -

…

"_Where the heck is Ven?"_ Roxas wondered as he sat with his fellow transfer students. He had turned his back for one second to have a conversation, and when he turned around his twin was gone.

It was strange, but, then again, it wasn't. Even when they were back in Radiant Garden, Ven would sneak away from the group to find Terra and Aqua. Ven always told him that he felt uncomfortable around his friends, but he never explained why. It was one thing when they were in their old school, but there was nobody here that they knew. Where could he go?

The blonde shrugged. _"Eh. It's nothing to worry about. It's not like I won't see him at home.."_

His thoughts were interrupted when he heard his best friend say, "Look at all the hot chicks… If I didn't know this was high school, I'd think I died and went to heaven.."

Roxas rolled his eyes, Demyx said nothing, and Zexion shook his head and continued reading his book.

"So many babes… I don't know where to start."

Zexion looked up from his book and said, "I know I shouldn't say anything, because you don't listen to me anyway, but can't you just find one girl and settle down instead of screwing every girl you meet like a heartless sex-hound?"

"Nobody asked you." Axel snapped.

"_Well, it was worth a shot.." _Zexion thought, sighing and returning to his book.

"_Hm…"_ Axel thought as he scanned the cafeteria. _"Where should I start?"_

After thinking about it for a few minutes, he decided to start at the top of the food chain; the popular girls; cheerleaders, to be more specific.

He spotted them fairly quickly. There they all were, at the table in the center of the lunchroom of course, gossiping and texting on their cell phones. In the center of the group was the head cheerleader. She was a typical hot blonde, with nice boobs, wavy hair, and manicured fingernails. The other cheerleaders waited on her hand and foot like a queen. She was likely spoiled and high maintenance, but hey, you got to start somewhere.

The gears started turning in his head, and he smirked wickedly.

…

…


	3. Challenge

**Banshee: Here's chapter 3. Hope you're enjoying it so far~.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

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><p>Chapter Three: Challenge<p>

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><p>During gym class, Axel decided to put his plan into motion. The class went through some before-class exercises, so they would be ready when the teacher walked in. While his three friends watched with dry, exasperated expressions from the sidelines, he got the cheerleader's attention by displaying some of his athletic skills. He even stretched do demonstrate his flexibility. It was working, for he got the head cheerleader's attention.<p>

Meanwhile, Nikki and her friends, which now included Ven, decided to have a little fun before class by taking a basketball and seeing how many baskets they could get before that dreaded whistle started blowing. They stop momentarily when they notice the new guy and the head cheerleader flirting with each other from across the gym.

Maggie shook her head. "Whether he knows it or not, that boy's playin' with fire - and a nasty one at that."

"Should we warn him?" Cassandra asked.

"I say let him burn."

"B-But Harry-" The blonde stuttered. Nikki cut her off before she could say anything more.

"It's none of our business. Let's just get back to our game."

"Yeah." Sandy agreed with Nikki. "We have to finish before class starts. We only have five more minutes, so let's go, go, go!"

The group resumed their game without another word on the subject.

The head cheerleader finally decided to approach Axel, swishing her hips as she walked towards him with her head held up high; perhaps a little _too_ high.

"Hi there." She said.

"Hey." Axel replied.

"I was sitting with my friends over there, and I couldn't help but notice you."

"What a coincidence. I couldn't help but notice you too."

"I'm Monique." She introduced herself. "You're the new guy; Axel, right?"

Axel nodded.

"You know, my dad owns a restaurant, and my friends and I eat there for practically nothing. Maybe you could meet me there after school and we could have a nice little dinner date. And maybe, after dinner, we can hang out at my place."

"_Heh. This is too easy."_ Axel thought, mentally smirking. "You're pretty straightforward. I like that. You got yourself a date, sweetheart."

Monique smiled. "Meet me there at six, okay?"

"Sure thing."

"See you there~…"

With that, Monique walked away, blowing a kiss at Axel as she left.

Axel turned to his friends with a smug look. "My first day, and I land a date with the head cheerleader. Am I good, or what?"

"I'd go with 'or what?'" Roxas deadpanned.

…

- The Next Day -

…

Tuesday.

The morning bell rang, and the group head inside for their second day. Ven and Roxas arrived together, but the former separated from the group - once again - to join up with Nikki and her friends; or "my friends," as he put it.

The cheerleaders had already arrived, and Monique, upon seeing Axel, approached to greet him.

"Hi Axel." She greeted.

"Yo."

"I had a great time with you last night." Monique said dreamily, twirling a lock of her hair in her fingers. "Will there, by any chance, be a second date?"

"With a face like that, I can't possibly say 'no…'" Axel purred.

Roxas let out a little 'bleh!' and stuck out his tongue, but neither Axel nor Monique noticed it.

"So, how about tonight? Same time, same place?" When the redhead nodded, she added, "You know, we don't have to wait until tonight to spend time together. You want to join me at my table for lunch?"

"I'll be there."

Monique smiled and blew a kiss. "See you then~.."

"You had sex with her last night, didn't you?" Zexion asked in an 'I know you did something' tone.

"Of course not." Axel said. When the others gave him a collective look of disbelief, he added dejectedly, "What? It's against my moral code - believe it or not, I do have one - to fuck on the first date. I'm not some trashy whore."

"You're right." Zexion agreed. "You're not a trashy whore; you're just a regular whore."

Axel narrowed his eyes at him and growled, "Go fuck yourself."

…

- Lunch -

- Nikki's POV -

…

Today was the day that our group got together to discuss what we're going to do for the weekend. This happens every week. We discuss things ahead of time so there's no last minute planning or confusion, and we make sure we are properly prepared before we hang out together.

Along with me, Sandy, Harriet, Cassandra, Maggie, and Ven (the new addition to our friendship circle), we also had Sora, Riku, Kairi, Naminé and Xion joining us. Before you ask, yes, Kairi, Naminé and Xion are sisters. They're triplets, actually.

"So what are we going to do this weekend?" Sandy asked.

"Well, last week, we all went over to my house to play video games." Sora said.

"Let's not do that again for a while." Riku said, holding up his hands. "My thumbs are still sore."

Sandy grabbed hold of one of his hands. "Aww~, you poor baby~…" She cooed, kissing his hand and rubbing it affectionately.

"Maybe we could go to the mall." Maggie suggested.

"We don't have enough money." I said. "Even if we pooled our money together, we wouldn't even have enough to buy a DVD."

"Oh, shoot…"

"We could go see a movie." Said Kairi. "It's been a while since we've done that."

"None of the movies they're showing now are any good." Riku said. "There's nothing but chick flicks and those stupid 'SAW,' 'Final Destination,' and 'Twilight' sequels."

"… Yeah, you're right." Kairi agreed. "There's nothing good playing. Anyone else have any ideas?"

Naminé put in her two cents, "How about the beach?"

"That's perfect!" Sandy exclaimed. "Great idea, Naminé!"

"Okay, all in favor-"

"Wait a minute." Xion interjected regretfully. "We can't go to the beach. Our parents are taking us to Radiant Garden for the weekend so we can visit our aunt. She just came out of surgery yesterday, and everyone's planning to take her out to dinner this weekend to celebrate."

"Oh, no." Kairi said. "You're right. We can't go."

"I totally forgot about that.." Said Naminé

"It's okay." Sora assured. "We'll just go to the beach next weekend."

"Okay," I sighed. "all in favor of going to the beach _next_ weekend, raise your hand."

I raised my hand first, and the others raised theirs almost immediately afterwards.

"Then it's settled." I said. "The beach it is."

…

- One Week Later -

- Axel's POV -

…

It was Saturday.

On our second date, Monique and I officially became boyfriend and girlfriend. Oddly enough, she was the one that asked me to go out with her. And who am I to say 'no' to a hot girl?

To celebrate nearly two weeks of being together, my girl suggested that we go to the beach. The timing was great too, because I was looking for some fresh meat.

As I sat beside her, I was busy scoping out some new potential girlfriends under the guise of 'just looking around' because 'I've never been to a beach before.' I never stayed with a girl for more than three weeks, but after nearly two weeks I was bored. Hell, I was bored after _one_ week. She's hot, but she's too needy, too high maintenance, spoiled, bitchy, and expected to be waited on all the time. Worst of all… she was too _easy_; too easy to win over, and too easy to get into bed.

"_Monique's hot, but getting her was way too easy.."_ I thought as I tapped my finger against my chin._ "I need a challenge."_

A sudden noise turned my attention over to a group of friends. There were some guys, but it was mostly girls. I watched them, trying to figure out which ones had a boyfriend and which ones didn't. The redhead and the silver-haired guy were _definitely_ together, and so was the other redheaded girl who was with a guy with spiky brown hair. I recognized one of the blondes as Roxas' girlfriend Naminé (they talk all the time over a webcam, and probably have already met in person; recently, if they hadn't already officially met before then) and the other was obviously single. The black girl in the pink swimsuit looked single, but somehow she didn't appeal to me. The Goth girl with the pigtails was definitely not an option because of the scary aura around her. Then there was another girl with short black hair… nah. The only other people was another guy with spiky black hair, Roxas' brother Ven, and… HELLO! What do we have here?

The girl leading the group was the one that caught my eye. Her skin was fair, and even though it had a few flaws, it still looked smooth and perfect and I wanted to touch it. Her long, light-brown hair was tied into a ponytail, with stray strands of hair coming loose and framing her cute face, and also bringing attention to her blue eyes. Other notable features: a nice ass, even nicer boobs (B-cups, it looks like), sexy legs, and an average body type; not too curvy, but not too thin; right in the middle, I'd say. She wore a blue two-piece swimsuit.

"What the hell are you staring at?"

"Hm?"

I looked to my right to see Monique glaring at me. "Oh, nothing, babe. I just… thought I saw a dolphin."

She seemed to believe it, for she shrugged and went back to sunbathing. As soon as her back was turned, I turned my gaze back to the girl in blue, and smirked as the gears were once again turning in my head as I formulated a new plan.

"_Hello~ new girlfriend…"_

…

- Monday -

…

With a new target in mind, I decided it was time to break it off with Monique.

I asked her to meet me in the courtyard during lunch.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE BREAKING UP WITH ME?"

I had to cover my ears because she screamed so loud. Her screaming also startled some other students that were passing by in the courtyard.

"I wasn't expecting such a bad reaction.." I muttered. "Listen, babe. It's not you, it's me."

"Don't give me that bullshit!" She snapped. "I know what this is about… It's about the sex, isn't it? Are you not getting enough? I'll give you as much as you want, if that's the problem!"

The sex wasn't the problem. It was the fact that she gave it up so easily that was the problem.

"I have my own reasons for doing this, and frankly, they don't matter to you because they're none of your business." I held up my hand and tapped my index and middle fingers together, imitating a pair of scissors. "Sorry sweetheart, but you've been cut loose. Later."

"You… _BASTARD_!" I heard Monique shriek as I walked away. "Nobody dumps me… _nobody_!"

I returned to the lunch room, and the others were waiting by the door.

"Whoa, dude, you really pissed her off." Demyx pointed out the obvious. "Are you sure dumping the head cheerleader is a good idea? Girls like her tend to be… what's the word I'm looking for…?"

"'Vindictive?'"

"Yeah! Vindictive! Thanks, Zex."

Zexion nodded.

I shrugged. "She's not the first girl I broke up with that threw a bitch fit. She'll get over me eventually."

Roxas sighed and shook his head, and I heard him say to himself, "Oh, boy…"

…

- Fifteen Minutes Later -

- Nikki's POV -

…

Our group arrived at lunch, and we sat at our usual table. Maggie was running a little late because her class wasn't over for another minute or two.

By the time we got our lunch and sat down, Maggie arrived. The expression on her face read 'OmiGod-I-have-something-really-juicy-to-tell-you!'

"Hey y'all." She said as she reached the table.

"Hey Maggie." We greeted.

"You guys aren't going to believe this. Monique and the new guy - 'Axel,' I think his name is - aren't together anymore."

I rolled my eyes. "What, did she get tired of her new boy toy already?"

"No, _he_ left _her_."

I raised an eyebrow. "You serious?" I asked.

Maggie held up her hand. "As the plague, girl."

"Good." Said Harriet. "That stuck-up bitch needed to be knocked down a few pegs."

"You said it, Harry." Sandy agreed.

"I know what type of guy he is." I scoffed. "He's probably out chasing some other piece of ass as we speak."

"What do you mean you know what 'type of guy' he is?" Cassandra asked.

"He's a player." I said. "All they do is flirt with and date multiple girls, sometimes several at once, get whatever they want from them, and then dump them to go after someone else. Trust me, I'm seen enough of them to know how they operate."

"… And what does that mean?"

"It means that Nikki's had a lot of guys try to 'play' her." Maggie explained for me. "It's happened to her so many times, she can spot a player like _that_."

For a little extra emphasis, she snapped her fingers when she said 'that.'

Sandy suddenly nudged me. "Speak of the devil. Hey, Nikki. He's watching you."

I _really_ didn't want to look, but I decided to bite. I turned around and saw him staring at me from a few tables away. He was sitting with the other transfer students; except Ven, who was sitting with us. He was smirking, and then the bastard had the audacity to wink at me. I responded with a scowl and gave him the finger, mouthing the words 'fuck you' before turning back towards my table.

…

- Axel's POV -

…

"Ooh, this one's _feisty_~…" I remarked, with my eyes still glued to the fiery little brunette that just flipped me off.

"Are you sure about this, Axel?" Roxas asked. "Ven told me about her. She's nice to younger boys, but she _hates_ everybody else; she _especially_ hates guys like _you_."

"Ah, don't worry about it, Rox." I assured. "No girl is immune to my charms. I'll have her down on her knees and kissing my feet soon enough."

Roxas sighed, and I knew he was thinking something along the lines of "This won't end well…"

…

- The Next Day -

…

Tuesday.

It was gym class.

Everyone was gathered in the gym, getting ready for a new exercise that Mr. Ryan, our teacher, calls 'sparring.' We prepared for the matches by stretching and limbering our bodies up.

Speaking of bodies, I was admiring the cute little brunette; more specifically, I was admiring her ass, which I had a nice view of as she bent over to touch her toes. She paused as she moved to straighten back up, and noticed me staring at her, giving me a mix between a dirty look and a death glare. We locked eyes for a few seconds before Mr. Ryan arrived and blew the whistle.

Mr. Ryan is a big, bulky black man, with well-defined muscles, straight posture, and was all-in-all, _very_ intimidating. When he yelled, he sounded like an angry bull elephant. He always dressed in a military-esque style, which was appropriate considering he used to be a drill sergeant, and also wore his military tags.

"All right." He said in his loud, booming voice. "Today, we're going to try something different. It's called 'sparring.' Now, before we begin, I'll say this: The matches are 'anything goes,' but certain moves are not allowed. You are not allowed to attack from behind, no blows to the head, and absolutely _NO_ groin hits. Understood?"

Everyone nodded.

"Good. Now put this protective gear on."

He pointed to a couple of bags filled with protective gear, such as helmets and padded gloves. Everyone put them on quickly, as instructed.

"Is everyone ready? All right, then. Step over here."

He led us to a circle in the middle of the court.

"One more thing before we begin. You see this circle?" He pointed to the circle. "If you leave this circle during the match, you lose automatically. Now, let's choose the starting pair. Hmm…"

He pointed to the brunette, "Nicole, and…" He scanned the group for a few seconds, and his finger was suddenly pointing at me. "Axel. Step into the circle."

"Oooh~, this outta be good~." The brunette's, whose name I just learned is 'Nicole,' redheaded friend said in excitement.

"Get 'im, girl!" Her black friend cheered her on.

'Nicole' and I stepped into the circle.

"Don't worry sweetheart, I'll go easy on you." I said, smirking at her.

"Aw, how sweet." Nicole said, her voice laced with sarcasm. "I'll be sure to remember that 'kind gesture' when I'm kicking your ass."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "We'll see about that."

Mr. Ryan blew the whistle, signaling the start of the match, and we stood there for a few tense seconds before Nicole balled one of her hands into a fist and came charging at me. She moved to punch me, but I moved out of the way.

"Missed me~."

She growled and tried to kick me, but I dodged that as well.

"Whoo, felt a little breeze on that one~!"

While her leg is still in the air, I knocked her other leg out from under her, knocking her down to the floor.

"Give it up, sweetheart." I said as she moved to get back up. "You're not gonna beat me."

"Wanna bet?" She asked, irritation in her voice, as she quickly got up and rushed towards me with her fist raised.

I sidestepped out of the way as she moved to punch me again, making her stumble slightly. Judging by her reactions, and the way she fought, I deduced that she was an angry, and violent, person. The boiling fury and her increasingly uncontrolled attacks were proof of that. As angry as she was, she wasn't focused enough to actually land a hit. I must have really rattled her. Good. That's what I was planning on. She tried to land a few more hits, but I either dodged or blocked them, giving her a smile that I knew irritated her.

After I knocked her away for the tenth time, she stood there for a few seconds, the expression on her face hinting that she was thinking about something. A few seconds later, she became focused again and lunged at me. I braced myself, but I was shocked when her hand went right by my face and settled on the back of my neck. Using that hand, she pulled my face closer to hers. We locked eyes again, and our lips were so close that they were almost touching. Suddenly, the look in her eyes changed and she gave me a wicked smirk. Before I knew what happened, she had jammed her knee into my stomach. It knocked the wind out of me, and it was hard for me to breathe. She smirked smugly and let go of my neck, letting me collapse onto the floor. Mr. Ryan determined that I was unable to continue - no shit; I couldn't even fucking breathe - and declared Nicole the winner.

"That was a…" I coughed. "cheap shot.."

"In an 'anything goes' match, there are no cheap shots." Nicole declared smugly.

With that, she went over to her friends. She received immediate pats to the back, and was congratulated on her victory as they laughed; at my expense.

"Whoa. She kicked your ass, dude." Roxas said.

"Damn.. I didn't expect her to hit so hard.. She's a tough one." I paused, then I chuckled to myself. "This makes things more interesting.."

…

…


	4. Preliminary

**Banshee: Hi everybody! Sorry this chapter's so short, but the next one will be longer, promise~.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Four: Preliminary<p>

* * *

><p>…<p>

- Normal POV -

…

Axel was laying in his bed, trying to formulate a new plan of attack. However, he had no such luck. He had practically nothing to go on because he knew nothing about this 'Nicole' girl; except that she's only nice to younger boys. Without any more information, he couldn't come up with a proper plan. How was he going to get the information?

A light bulb suddenly turned on in his head, and he picked up the phone to call Roxas. It rang twice before the younger boy picked up.

"H.. Hello…?" Said a groggy voice from the other side.

"Yo, Roxas. I need a favor."

Roxas groaned. "Dude, do you have _any_ idea what time it is?"

"Look, I'm sorry I woke you up, but I need you to do something for me."

"This doesn't have anything to do with that 'Nicole' girl, does it?"

"Actually…"

He cut Axel off. "Forget it. I'm not gonna ask my brother to be your 'mole.' He'd never agree to it, anyway. And don't ask about my cousins, because Sora is too nice for that, and Vanitas does do favors but it's always for a price. Also, before you even think about asking, I'm not doing it either."

"Damn it.." The redhead growled. "Well what do _you_ suggest?"

"If you want to know anything about her, then you'll have to find out for yourself. That's all I can tell you."

Axel paused for a few seconds, then he responded, "… Fine."

"What?"

"If that's what I have to do, then I'll do it."

"Are you really going to go through all that trouble just to get into this girl's pants?" Roxas asked.

"Hey, I work hard for my tail."

Roxas sighed. "All right, then. Good luck; you're gonna need it."

The conversation ended there. They both hung up the phone, Roxas placing his back on the nightstand by his bed. He curled up into a ball and clutched his stomach, groaning, "My stomach hurts…"

…

- The Next Day -

…

Wednesday.

Science class.

Today was the day that Mr. Lincoln was going to assign everyone their permanent partners for the rest of the school year. He made this announcement before he also announced that there was going to be a pop quiz; a collective groan was the response to the quiz.

He walked around the room, passing the papers around to the students, who reluctantly picked up their pencils and started writing. Axel was one of the first to finish, and got up to give the paper to Mr. Lincoln. He handed to quiz to the teacher, and coughed a little to get his attention.

"Mr. Lincoln?" He asked quietly.

"Yes, Axel?" Said Mr. Lincoln.

Axel repeatedly scratched the back of his head, pretending to be nervous.

"About assigning partners…"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering if you could partner me up with Nicole. I just think I would be more comfortable working with her."

"Hm.. Very well then." Lincoln agreed.

"Thanks, Mr. Lincoln."

"Anytime."

Biting back a smirk, Axel returned to his seat. When all the quizzes are handed in, Mr. Lincoln started assigning partners. He picked up his attendance sheet and started reading off names, picking partners at random. Some students were pleased with the pair ups, while others were horrified and even looked at their new partner with disdain. Eventually, Mr. Lincoln reached Nikki's name.

"Nicole, you will be paired up with… Axel."

Nikki was doodling in her notebook - again - and when she heard that Axel was going to be her partner, her hand jerked and there was a dark, rigid line across her paper.

"_WHAT?"_ She mentally shrieked.

Knowing that Axel had something to do with it, Nikki glared at the redhead, who gave her a smug grin. Mr. Lincoln continued to read names, and once the assigning was over, he told everyone to move so they were sitting with their new partner; these seats would become their permanent seats for the rest of the year. Nikki refused to move from her seat, so Axel gathered his things and moved to the table she was sitting at.

"Hey." He greeted, acting like the arrangement was an accident. "Looks like we're going to be working together for the rest of the year. Isn't that nice?"

"Yeah, it's real fan-fucking-tastic.." Nikki drawled sarcastically.

"So, 'Nicole,' is it?"

"If I'm going to have to talk to you, then I might as well let you know that I prefer to be called 'Nikki.'"

"'Nikki,' huh?" Axel repeated the name, saying it slowly, enjoying both her irritation and how it rolled off his tongue. "That's a cute little nickname."

He was unfazed when Nikki's hand shot up and grabbed him by the collar, and he sat there with the same pleased expression when she glared at him; if looks could kill, he would _definitely_ have dropped dead right there.

"Look, let's get one thing straight. I don't like you. And if you know what's good for you, you'll keep that libido of yours away from me, and away from my friends, or I'll beat you to within an inch of your life, and when I'm done with you you'll be wishing you never left whatever dank, disgusting hole you crawled out of. You got that?"

"Don't worry sweetheart, I got ya." he said with a playful smirk.

Nikki growled and let him go, turning around sharply towards the front of the room, refusing to look at Axel for the rest of the class. She failed to notice that Axel was still staring at her, his lips curled into a devious smirk. The first phase of his plan was complete.

…

…


	5. Conversation

**Banshee: Hi everyone. This chapter is longer than the last one, but not by much.. Hey, at least it's longer. The last one was more of a setup anyway. At the email address part I had to write it a different way, but I know you all will still understand what it says. Just a heads-up. Okay, on with the story~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Five: Conversation<p>

* * *

><p>…<p>

- Thursday -

- Axel's POV -

…

Phase One has gone smoothly.

Now that Nikki and I are - permanent - lab partners, she will _have_ to talk to me; on a daily basis, whether she wants to or not.

Now for Phase Two, which I call 'break the ice.'

Today, Mr. Lincoln assigned an in-class chemistry project using unstable chemicals. Nikki forbade me from handling the chemicals or the fragile glass test tubes and beakers, and restricted my duties to taking down data. Okay, so she's the 'take charge' type. As she carefully measured and added the chemicals together, I couldn't help but admire how precise she was.

"You're pretty good at this." I complimented. "Is science your favorite subject?"

Nikki shrugged. "Not really."

"Then what subject do you like?" I asked.

She shrugged again. "They're all okay, I guess."

"Hm…" I saw her picking up a bunch of beakers at once and asked, "Do you need some help with those-"

"No." She said. "Don't touch anything. Remember our agreement? _I_ handle the chemicals, and anything breakable, and _you_ take the notes."

I grumbled, and continued to write down the data.

…

- Friday -

…

We were in the middle of taking notes when Mr. Lincoln suddenly excused himself from the room to talk to another teacher. Perfect.

I took the time to try and strike another conversation. My first attempt didn't go so well, so maybe it will go more smoothly this time.

I looked over at her notebook, and said, after observing her handwriting, "You have nice handwriting."

"Thanks." She said.

"So, you're a doodler, huh?" I asked, after noticing the doodles; how could I _not_ notice them? They were all over the page. The doodles were of flowers.

"I doodle occasionally." Nikki said.

So far, so good.

"Lot of flowers here."

"Yup."

"You like flowers?" I asked.

"I guess."

There she goes again with the 'simple answer' shit.

"Any particular kind?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact." She said. I thought I was getting somewhere, but then she said, "It's a rare variety called _none of your business_."

I shrank back. "… Ouch.."

…

- Monday -

…

Today we were going to be dissecting frogs.

This was a good opportunity to see whether she was squeamish or not. A lot of people in the class were grossed out at the idea, so why wouldn't she be? I looked at her and saw her sit there with the same blank expression that she _always_ wore when she was around me. She doesn't want to let me know anything about her. Well we'll see about _that_.

Mr. Lincoln passed out the diagrams and instructions for the dissection, and also passed around surgical tools, rubber gloves, and goggles. Then he gave everyone their trays, with the frog splayed out and pinned to said trays so they wouldn't move when they were cut open.

"Are you sure you don't want me to do it?" I asked as Nikki picked up the scalpel. "I don't want you to get grossed out."

"I can handle it." She said.

"Are you squeamish?"

"Not that I know of."

"Seeing some internal organs doesn't bother you, does it?" I asked, hoping for a 'yes.'

"Nope. Not really."

"Then it won't be a problem, will it?"

"No. Now shut up." Nikki ordered irritably. "I don't want to make any mistakes."

Using the scalpel, she cut a straight line down the frog's stomach, exposing its innards.

"You grossed out, yet?" I asked.

"No. Are _you_?" She retorted.

I scoffed. "Of course not."

She took the tweezers and began removing the frog's entrails, starting with the fat. Then she removed some internal organs, and I was shocked to see that she wasn't effected by it at all.

What was this chick's stomach made of, _steel_?

"Oh, dude…" I muttered, pretending to be grossed out as Nikki took out the frog's liver. "Is that it's liver? And those… a-are those it's…? Oh God.. I think I'm going to be sick… This is pretty disgusting, isn't it?"

Nikki looked at me, then at the organ, then shrugged her shoulders and said unemotionally, "… Eh."

"_Doesn't _anything_ bother this chick? _Besides_ me?"_

…

- Tuesday -

…

Since we were going to have the same partner for the whole school year, our class was encouraged to share phone numbers and email addresses so they can contact each other outside of class.

Nikki would _have_ to share hers with me sooner or later; especially if we had an out-of-class project to do.

"Say, Nikki, can I ask you for a favor?" I asked.

"That depends." She said. "What is it?"

"Since we're lab partners, it's only fair that we exchange numbers and email addresses so we can contact each other outside of class. And we can always just talk."

She smiled at me, and I somehow knew that there was something _far_ more sinister behind it. "That sounds lovely. Here, let me give you mine first."

She ripped out a piece of paper from her notebook, scribbled onto it in her blue pen, and when she was done she handed it to me with a smile. I read the note, and for a number she wrote '1-800-KISS-MY-ASS,' and for her email address she put 'NoneOfYourBusiness-AT-FUCKYOUdotCom'

"_Well so much for that idea…" _I thought as I crumpled up the paper and threw it away.

…

- Wednesday -

…

Nikki arrived in class a little after I did, and we had two minutes before class started. She opened her bag and took out her notebook, and I noticed a picture of a black tog taped to the front.

"Nice dog." I said. "Is he yours?"

She nodded. "Yup."

"How old is he?"

"Old enough."

"Okay.. What breed is he?"

"German Shepherd."

"That's neat."

"Yup."

"Does he know any tricks?" I asked.

"Yup." Nikki said.

"What can he do?"

She looked directly at me. "He bites people on command. Want to come over my house later so I can show you?"

"Uh, no thanks.." I declined her offer, backing away. "I'm good."

…

- Thursday -

…

"So…" I said. "Long day, huh?"

Nikki nodded, and said, "… Uh-huh."

"Bet you can't wait to get out of here, huh?"

"… Uh-huh."

"I know I can't wait. I'm bored out of my head. Are you?"

"… Uh-huh."

"…"

"…"

"… You want me to shut up, don't you?"

"… Uh-huh."

…

- Friday -

…

I arrived in the science room with fifteen minutes to spare. I don't normally get to class that early, but it gave me more time to try to get something out of Nikki.

Speaking of which…

There she was, sitting at our table doodling in her notebook.

"Hey, Nikki." I greeted as I sat down.

"…"

"I see you're here early." I said.

"…"

I raised an eyebrow at her silence. "… O~kay…" I looked at the doodles. "That's a nice rabbit. You like those?"

"…"

"Rabbits are cute, I guess."

Looking at the doodles, I noticed that they were drawn in blue ink. Everything in her notebook was written in blue ink. Her pen was blue, too. "Blue ink, huh? You like blue?"

"…"

"Yeah, blue's an okay color. I like red, personally."

"…"

"So, how's your morning been?" I asked, hoping for a response.

"…"

"… Hello?"

"…"

"Yo, Nikki. Anybody home?" I asked, waving a hand in front of her face.

When my hand passed by her eyes, Nikki finally noticed that I was there. She looked at me, then she reached over and pulled something out of her ear. It was an earphone; she had been listening to music the whole time.

"I'm sorry, did you say something?" She asked.

I fell out of my chair.

I've been at this for over a week. Trying to talk to this girl, and trying to get anything out of her, personal or not, was like trying to get blood out of a stone.

Phase Two… was a horrible failure…

Oh, well. On to Phase Three!

…

…


	6. Laughter

**Banshee: Hello everyone~! Chapter 6 is here~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot. Also, the jokes belong to their respective creators.**

**IMPORTANT NOTE: I put up a little key so you'd know who was saying ewhat during the 'texting' part.**

**[[-]] - Axel**

**{{-}} - Nikki**

* * *

><p>Chapter Six: Laughter<p>

* * *

><p>…<p>

- Monday -

- Normal POV -

…

Axel spent the entire weekend thinking over the next phase of his plan, which he called 'Phase Three.' This phase of the plan involved making Nikki laugh.

He armed himself with jokes and headed off to school.

When he arrived, there were only a few minutes left before the morning bell rang. He spotted Nikki walking towards the school, and she was alone, so he approached her, his arsenal of jokes aimed and ready to fire.

"Hey, Nikki," He greeted. "Want to hear a joke?"

She gave him a flat look. "If I wanted a joke, I'd just look at you all day."

"Aw, come on, you'll like this one."

Nikki thought about it for a moment, and groaned. "Fine."

Axel grinned. "Okay, here goes: A cucumber, an olive and a penis are talking. The cucumber says "I hate my life. When I get big, fat, and juicy they cut me up and put me in salad."

The olive says "That's nothing. When I get big, fat, and juicy they cut me up and put me on pizza."

The penis says "You think you have it bad? When I get big, fat, and juicy they put me in a bag, throw me in a cave, shut the door and leave me there till I throw up."

Nikki stood there with a flat expression.

"So?" Axel asked. "What do you think?"

"… Why would a cucumber, an olive, and a penis be talking to each other? That doesn't make any sense."

Axel blinked. "Okay, how about this one? Why couldn't Dracula's wife get to sleep?"

"I don't know." Nikki drawled. "Why?"

"Because of his coffin. Get it?"

No response.

"…Okay, how about this? Why didn't the skeleton cross the road?"

"Why?" Nikki asked.

"He didn't have the guts!"

Nope. Nothing.

"Okay… How do you get 99 old ladies to say "f***" at the same time?"

Nikki sighed. "How?"

"Yell 'Bingo!'"

Silence.

"… Are you done?" She asked. "I don't want to be late for gym class."

"_Damn it.."_ Axel growled inwardly. _"I thought the last one would have got her for sure…"_

…

- Gym Class -

…

"Hey Nikki, I got another joke for you."

Nikki groaned when she heard Axel calling her again. She had just gotten out of the locker room, and that infernal redhead just wouldn't leave her alone.

"_Just ignore him, and maybe, just maybe, he'll go away.."_ She thought, turning her back on him and walking the other way.

He caught up to her and caught her shoulder.

"You'll love this one." He proclaimed. "Okay. A blond, a brunette, and a redhead were trying out for a new NASA experiment on sending women to different planets. First, they called the brunette in and asked her a question.

"If you could go to any planet, what planet would you want to go to and why?"

After pondering the question she answered, "I would like to go to Mars because it seems so interesting with all the recent news about possible extra terrestrial life on the planet."

They said "Well okay, thank you." And told her that they would get back to her.

Next, the redhead entered the room and the NASA people asked her the same question. In reply, "I would like to go to Saturn to see all of its rings." Again, "Thank you" and they would get back to her.

Finally, the blond entered the room and they asked her the same question they asked the brunette and the redhead. She thought for a while and replied, "I would like to go to the sun."

The people from NASA replied, "Why? Don't you know that if you went to the sun you would burn to death?"

The blond smirked and put her hands on her hips. "Are you guys dumb? I'd go at night!"

"What do you think of that one?" Axel asked when he was finished telling the joke. "Blondes are pretty stupid, huh?"

Nikki glared at him. "My best friend is blonde, you jackass." She growled. "And I'll have you know that she is very intelligent."

".. Oh…" Axel shrank back. "My bad…"

The bell rang and Mr. Ryan was in the room not even two seconds later, carrying two bags of rubber balls over his shoulders. Today was dodge ball day. He assigned people to teams and went over the ground rules for the fiftieth time that year, and soon dodge balls were flying across the gym. Some people threw harder than others. The students with weak throws were eliminated early. Soon Mr. Ryan had to excuse himself from the class to escort one of the students to the nurse for a broken nose.

When he left, Axel decided to tell Nikki another joke.

"Hey, Nikki. Do you like 'Yo Mama' jokes?" He asked. "I got one for you! Your mama's so ugly, the last time she heard a whistle was when she got hit by a train!"

Her classmates laughed, but she didn't; in fact, she was angry.

"Don't talk about my mother like that!" She yelled. "She's a beautiful woman! Here! This is her picture."

She reached into her pocket and took out a picture of her mother, Catherine.

Her mother was forty-three-years-old, but appeared to be in her thirties, maybe even late twenties, with long light-brown hair and blue eyes. Her figure wasn't much different from her daughter's; an average body type - but more mature, with wider hips and larger breasts, fair skin, and adorned in blue clothing; basically an older version of Nikki. In the picture, she was out in the sun, hanging onto her husband, Raymond's arm.

"Damn.." Axel whistled. "How old is she? Just curious."

"She's in her forties." Nikki said.

"_Damn_! She looks good. I can see where you got your good looks from."

"Ugh.."

…

- Health Class -

…

Mrs. Sanchez was in the middle of another long, and boring lecture.

Axel looked over at Nikki, who had her elbow resting on her desk as she rested her chin on her hand. She was clearly bored. It was the perfect time to tell a joke and make her laugh.

He was about to text her when he realized that he didn't have her number; he tried to get it before, but all he got was a quote from a bumper sticker. Luckily, Ven was sitting near her; and he knew Ven's number. Axel sent a text to the younger boy, telling him to give the phone to Nikki because 'he had something to tell her,' a request that the blonde reluctantly agreed to. Ven handed his phone to Nikki, and not even two seconds later, it buzzed.

[[Hey Nikki.]]

{{Axel? Is that you?}}

[[Yo. ;)]]

{{What are you doing?}}

[[I got another joke for you.]]

{{Why are you texting Ven's phone?}}

[[I don't know your number.]]

{{… Let me guess. You're not going to leave me alone until I hear your stupid joke. Am I right?}}

[[Bingo.]]

{{Fine. What is it?}}

[[Knock knock.]]

{{Who's there?}}

[[Aardvark!]]

{{Aardvark who?}}

[[Aardvark a hundred miles for one of your smiles! ;)]]

{{… -_-;;}}

Nikki shut the phone off, to prevent any more texts, and handed it back to Ven. A short time later, the bell rang and it was time for lunch. Nikki quickly packed up her things and got up, hoping to get out of the classroom before-

"Knock Knock~."

Damn it.

"Ugh.." She groaned. "Who's there?"

"Arch!"

Nikki arched her eyebrow. She knew what was coming, but she asked anyway, "Arch who?"

"You catching a cold?" Axel asked coyly.

Nikki looked at Axel, Axel looked at Nikki, and Nikki, with an exasperated sigh, asked, "Are you done? I have to get to lunch."

With that, she walked by him and left.

"Damn.." Axel cursed. "These jokes are pure gold, and she didn't even crack a smile! Guess I'll have to try something else.."

Plan A was a bust. On to Plan B; physical comedy.

During lunch, Axel snuck out of school and went to a store, and purchased a shock pen.

In science class, while Nikki isn't looking, Axel switched her pen with the prank pen. It looked just like hers, so she wouldn't know the difference until she pushed the button. He watched as Nikki picked up the pen and pushes the button, and expected her to shriek and toss the pen away, then laugh when she saw it was a joke.

The opposite happened.

She pressed the button and the shock caused her arm to shake uncontrollably, but she didn't seem to notice.

"That's odd. It's not working." Nikki said to no one in particular. Then she shrugged. "It must be broken. Good thing I have a spare in my bag."

Nikki set the Shock Pen aside and pulled a new pen out of her bag. She pressed the button and the pen's point popped out, ready to write.

"There we go." She beamed, and went back to writing.

Axel banged his head against the desk.

A short time later, the class was assigned an experiment, after which the students were required to wash their hands. Axel snuck to one of the sinks in the back of the room and wrapped up the switch to the sprayer on the faucet with clear masking tape. Then he returned to his seat. The experiments went off without a hitch, and both of them get their hands dirty. Nikki went to the faucet first, and was about to turn the faucet on, but stopped when she noticed the tape on the sprayer. She tore the tape off and turned the water on, but nothing came out. She then moved to the sink on the left. Knowing that Axel was responsible for the tape, she grabs some masking tape and covers the sprayer on the other sink; after washing her hands, of course. She also re-applied tape to the other sink.

Meanwhile, Axel waited at the table, not looking back so he wouldn't look suspicious. He was surprised when he didn't hear Nikki yell, and even more surprised when she came back with her clothes completely dry.

"Excuse me for a minute." She said. "I have to tell Mr. Lincoln that the right sink isn't working well again."

Axel blinked. "The right sink isn't working?"

Nikki shook her head. "Nope. The pipes must be clogged; probably some jackass jamming paper towels up the pipe again."

Nikki walked away to tell Mr. Lincoln about the clogged sink. Axel shrugged and walked over to the sink to wash his hands, and checked the one on the right to see if what Nikki was saying was true. Lo and behold, there were paper towels jammed in the faucet. He walked over to the left sink and turned on the water, and let out a surprised yelp when he was sprayed with water.

"What the…? God damn it…"

He walked back to the table, grumbling about his wet shirt.

"What happened to you?" Nikki asked.

"The stupid sprayer went off on me." Axel grumbled.

Nikki shook her head, and Axel swore that he saw her smirking. He put two-and-two together, and mentally cursed.

"_It was _her_? Why that little…! Fine. Two can play at that game."_

…

- History -

…

Axel arrived before the rest of the class, and, using some rope and a bucket, he rigged the door so that whoever opened it would get doused with water. He left the door open so that no one else got hit. One by one, the other students arrived. They saw the trap and, believing the prank is for the teacher, waited silently. Only Nikki and Mr. Jameson were unaccounted for. He heard them coming down the hallway, shut the door, then took his seat.

Nikki approached the door with Mr. Jameson, who was carrying a lot of items in his arms.

"Oh, dear. It seems my hands are full." Said Mr. Jameson, referring to his briefcases. "Can you get the door please, Nicole?"

"Sure thing Mr. Jameson."

Nikki turned the knob and opened the door, unknowingly triggering the trap. The door tipped the bucket over and she was doused with water. The bucket slipped off the door and fell down, hitting her in the head. The other students started laughing hysterically.

"My God!" Mr. Jameson exclaimed. "Nicole, are you alright?"

Nikki's friends helped quiet the class; by yelling at them to shut up, as Mr. Jameson gave Nikki his jacket. She now needed a change of clothes, so he offered to escort her to the nurse's office so she could dry off and change into a new uniform. He also wanted her head to be checked out to make sure she wasn't seriously hurt. As he led her out of the room, she saw Axel smirking at her, and she gave him her darkest, most menacing glare.

Axel sat there in his desk, and he knew that things were going to be a lot more difficult now. He knew that he had failed to make her laugh, and instead made her angrier and hate him even more than she already did. It wasn't all his fault. She was taking it _way_ too seriously. It was only a joke, right?

Phase Three had failed miserably. But that didn't matter now. He was done playing nice, done playing _fair_.

"_This is _war_ now, sweetheart.."_

As Nikki was being led to the nurse's office, there was one thing on her mind, buzzing around like a horde of angry bees…

"_It. Is. ON, __**BITCH**__!"_

…

…


	7. Love and War

**Banshee: Hi everybody! Here's chapter 7~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

**[[text]] - Axel**

**{{text}} - Nikki**

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven: Love and War<p>

* * *

><p><em>Don't be scared.<em>

_I've done this before._

_Show me your teeth…_

…

- Tuesday -

…

It was early morning.

When Nikki arrived at school, Ven relayed a message to her, telling her that Axel wanted to speak to her in the courtyard; about what, though, he had no idea.

Reluctantly, Nikki went to the courtyard to meet him.

"Hey, Nikki." Axel greeted when she arrived. "I was afraid you weren't going to show up."

"What do you want?" Nikki asked impatiently, crossing her arms.

"I want to apologize for what happened yesterday. What I did wasn't cool. It was immature, and childish, and I'm sorry."

"Really?" Nikki arched an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"Just to show you how sorry I am, I got you some flowers." Axel pulled out a bouquet of flowers from behind his back. The flowers were pink, and they were hyacinths; an 'I'm sorry' flower.

"Oh, how sweet." Nikki said with a sickeningly sweet voice and smile, taking the flowers. Then, without warning, she pulled a lighter out of her pocket and set the flowers on fire. A few seconds later, she stuck the flowers in the fountain to douse the flame.

"Wow." Axel said, dumbstruck. "You don't like hyacinths?"

"It's not the flowers. It's the color; I hate pink."

"Okay. I also apologize for my poor color choice." Axel apologized, taking a mental note of her hatred for the color pink.

"Don't think your little 'apology' changes anything." Nikki growled, stalking up to him and pointing her finger in his face. "I still don't like you. And nothing you do will ever make me feel anything but pure disgust and hatred for you. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to back to my friends."

Nikki pushed past Axel and headed back to her friends, leaving the redhead alone.

He chuckled to himself. "That's fine by me, sweetheart. The best thing about emotions is that they can change. Soon your heart, and your body, will be all mine."

...

"The _nerve_ of that guy!" Nikki vented as she stomped out of the courtyard. "Trying to butter me up with an apology and flowers. Who's he trying to fool? He's faker than Monique's breast implants."

She pulled on her hair.

"Grr! What is his problem? Why the hell is he so interested in me anyway? … Why am I asking myself these questions?"

"Because you're a crazy person who likes to talk to herself?"

Nikki was caught off guard, and let out a little 'eep' noise as she jumped a little. She turned around to see Sandy.

"Oh. Sandy, it's you." She breathed. "Don't sneak up on me like that."

"Axel got on your nerves again, didn't he?" Sandy asked in a 'matter-of-factly' tone.

"When _isn't_ he on my nerves?"

"You shouldn't let him get to you. He's just trying to get under your skin."

Nikki sighed. "I know that. I can't help it. He's just so _irritating_."

"Don't let it bother you too much." Sandy said. "Once he sees you're not going to budge, he'll move on to somebody else."

"And what if he doesn't?"

"… Want me to beat him up for you?"

"Thanks Sandy, but I can handle him myself."

"I never doubted that fact."

Nikki laughed, and the pair walked back to the others, who were waiting for them.

…

Science class.

Mr. Lincoln was in the middle of a lecture about the periodic table.

Axel decided that he was going to pass notes to Nikki, despite Lincoln's zero tolerance for passing notes. He wrote down the message and slid it over to Nikki, who reluctantly took it and opened it.

[[Would you be offended if I said you have beautiful eyes?]]

Nikki twitched. She wrote her response in jagged handwriting and passed the note back to him.

{{_Yes_. I would be _very_ offended.}}

[[Why so hostile? I'm complimenting you.]]

{{When it's coming from you, no matter how nice it is, I don't take it as a compliment. I take it as an insult. If you're going to say something, don't waste time pretending to be nice. Just come out and say it.}}

Axel wrote his response. When Nikki was about to open the note to read it, Mr. Lincoln noticed her.

"Nicole!" Mr. Lincoln bellowed. "Is that a note? You know there is no passing notes in my class!"

"B-But-" Nikki stuttered.

"No buts!" Mr. Lincoln barked, cutting her off. "Why don't you come up here and share your note with the rest of the class."

Nikki reluctantly got up and walked to the front of the room. She opened up the note, and when she saw what it said, she looked at Mr. Lincoln, the look in her eyes saying "Do you _really_ want me to read this?" When her answer was a reprimanding glare, she reluctantly read the message.

"'You have nice boobs.'" She drawled. "'Are they natural, or implants?'"

The class burst out laughing. Nikki's cheeks turned red with embarrassment and she returned to her seat.

When class let out, Nikki hurriedly packed her things and left. Axel followed her, and met up with her when she went to her locker.

"You never answered my question. Are your boobs natural or are they implants?" Axel asked slyly, leaning up against one of the lockers.

"None of your fucking business." Nikki growled.

"You're not still mad about what happened in science class, are you?"

Nikki glared at him, the look in her eyes saying "Of _course_ I'm still mad, you idiot."

Axel put up his hands defensively. "Hey, you wanted me to 'just come out and say it,' so I did. I was being honest."

"That was _not_ being honest." Nikki said. "That was being a dick."

"Speaking of which, wanna sneak into the broom closet and have a little quickie before class?"

Nikki's eyebrow twitched. "The only reason I would ever go into a closet with you would be so I could stick a broom up your ass."

"O~oh, I didn't know you were into that kind of stuff. You're a _kinky_ little kitten, aren't you~?"

"Call me 'kitten' again and I'll show you how '_kinky_' I am."

"What are you gonna do, spank me?"

"If I use my foot, will it still be considered spanking?"

"It can be whatever you want, sweetheart~." Axel purred.

Her eye twitched again. "Call me 'sweetheart' one more time, and I'll punch you." She warned.

"You don't have the nerve, _sweetheart_~." He dared.

Before Axel could blink, Nikki balled up her fist and punched him in the stomach. The hit made him double over a little.

"What were you saying about 'not having the nerve?'" Nikki inquired smugly.

"Okay.." He choked. "I take that back. You have the nerve.."

"I've wasted enough time with you." Nikki said. "I have to get to class before Mr. Jameson has a conniption."

As she said this, she took her history book out of her locker and closed it, spinning the combination lock to a random number. She walked away, and Axel followed her.

"That makes two of us." He said. "Allow me to walk you to class, _ma petite fleur_."

Nikki stopped in her tracks as soon as she heard the last words being spoken in a foreign language, and turned to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "… Did you just speak French?"

Axel winked. "_Oui_, _mon cher_."

Nikki shook her head. "Just when I thought you couldn't get any weirder.."

"Hey!" The redhead exclaimed dejectedly. "Who are you calling 'weird?'"

Nikki just laughed and walked ahead of him.

Axel huffed. "Oh sure, you don't laugh when I tell you a joke, but you'll laugh when you're making fun of me!"

As they walked down the hall, neither of them noticed that they were being watched.

Monique was watching them from further down the hallway. She watched Axel interact with Nikki with a scowl on her face.

_This_ was the girl he dumped her for?

"What does he see in that little _nobody_?" She asked no one in particular. "We'll see how much he wants her when I'm done with her.."

…

…

_ma petite fleur_: my little flower

_Oui, mon cher_: Yes, my dear


	8. Weakness

**Banshee: Hello~! Chapter 8 is in the house~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight: Weakness<p>

* * *

><p><em>Well you're a real tough cookie with a long history<em>

_Of breaking little hearts, like the one in me_

_That's okay, let's see how you do it_

_Put up your dukes, let's get down to it!_

_..._

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Why don't you hit me with your best shot!_

_Hit me with your best shot!_

_Fire away~!_

…

Nikki is a tough girl. Axel knew that for a fact.

When she sparred with him, she brought him to his knees. She's immune to his charms, and brushes off his attempts to flirt with her. But every person has a weakness. All he had to do was find hers.

It should be easy… right?

It was October, the month of fear, scary movies, and candy; the perfect time to find out someone's weakness. He was going to find out what her fear was, so he could get one step closer to her heart by comforting her when she was afraid. At the same time, Monique was also trying to find out what Nikki's fear was so she could exploit it.

…

- Friday -

…

At the beginning of school, Nikki and her friends saw a sign-up sheet on the bulletin board in front of the office, advertising a school trip to the zoo. The trip was free, and the bus will be leaving at eight o'clock on Thursday morning. It was a day-long trip. Nikki, Sandy, and Ven signed up for the trip, and the group headed off to class. A short time later, Axel an Roxas came by, and when the redhead saw her name on the list, he signed himself up as well. Roxas also signed his name.

…

Science class.

Mr. Lincoln asked Nikki and Axel to go get some mops to clean up some spilled chemicals. The chemicals were all over the floor. They complied with the teacher's request and headed to the broom closet. As they left, Monique snuck out of the classroom and followed them. When they got inside the closet, the blonde shut the door and locked it.

"Have fun, Nikki~." Monique cooed evilly. "Hope this tiny space doesn't bother you~."

With that, she snuck away.

Meanwhile, Nikki and Axel were grabbing the mops and the buckets to clean up the mess in the science room. As soon as the door shut, and they were in pitch blackness, they stopped what they were doing and Nikki turned on the light. She went over to the door and jiggled the knob, growling when the door wouldn't budge.

"What happened?" Axel asked.

"We've been locked in." Nikki said.

"Didn't Mr. Lincoln give you a key?"

"The lock is on the _outside_, you idiot."

"Does he have a spare key?" He asked.

"No." Nikki said. "But the janitor does. He works on this floor, but he won't be here for half an hour."

The broom closet was small. There was only enough room for some brooms and mops, and a little spot in the corner for brushes and buckets. The lack of space left Nikki and Axel standing next to each other, with barely any room to move around. If they did move, their bodies would be touching. For this reason, Nikki didn't dare to move.

"This closet is so small.." She said. "I can barely move in here…"

"You're not claustrophobic, are you?" Axel asked.

Nikki gave him a look. "Of course not." She snapped.

"If you get freaked out, you can always hold onto me~."

"Ugh.."

They spent over a half hour in the broom closet before the janitor finally came and unlocked the door. He was shocked when he found two students inside the closet, and when they got back to class and explained everything to Mr. Lincoln, their classmates made a lot of 'Seven Minutes in Heaven' jokes.

In the time they spent in the closet, Axel noticed that Nikki showed no signs of being scared. She spent the whole time with her arms crossed, and leaning against the wall, with her foot tapping impatiently. She wasn't scared; she was just irritated; irritated that she was stuck in a closet with _him_.

Claustrophobia was _definitely_ out of the question.

…

- Monday -

…

Health class.

A bad thunderstorm rolled in during the school day. Everyone figured it must have started sometime during gym. The clouds were almost black, making it seem like almost nighttime. The rain was heavy, the thunder was loud, and the lightning struck brightly and often.

"That's a pretty bad storm out there." Ven pointed out as he looked out the window. "Do you think the power will go out?"

"Maybe." Nikki said.

Suddenly there was a loud _BOOM_ as the thunder hit again. Axel saw that Nikki was a little shocked, but not scared. Everyone was shocked when a bolt of lightning struck the wire connecting to the school, and there was a mess of sparks as the wire got disconnected and fell to the ground. After that, the lights went out.

Nikki watched as her classmates started freaking out, screaming and crying as Mrs. Sanchez tried to calm them down. "They're acting like this has never happened before." She said. "This happens whenever we get a bad storm. It's nothing to freak out about."

"Thunderstorms don't scare you, do they?" Ven asked.

"Nope." Nikki said immediately. "I'm not afraid of the dark, either."

"Does _anything_ scare you?"

Nikki paused for a second before she said, "… That's for me to know, and for everyone else to never find out."

The lightning continued to strike, and so did the thunder, lighting the rooms for a few brief seconds. Mrs. Sanchez left the room to speak with the principal. She returned a few minutes later, and told the students that no one was allowed to leave the school because of the storm and the downed power lines, and couldn't leave until the fire dept. came in and cleared it. Until then, the students and faculty were stuck in the school with no power.

"Great.." Nikki muttered. "We're stuck here until the storm stops, and until the fire dept. takes care of the power line."

"This su~ucks~!" Sandy whined. "Who knows how long it'll take them to get here!"

"The whole town must be having power issues." Nikki said. She checked her phone, and saw that there were no bars on it. "Cell phone service is shot too."

"At least we've still got the plumbing." Ven said.

"Speaking of which, I need to go to the bathroom." Nikki said.

"Want me to go with you?" Sandy asked as Nikki stood up.

"I'll be fine." Nikki assured. "Don't worry about it."

Nikki got a bathroom pass from Mrs. Sanchez and left to go to the bathroom, unaware that she was being followed. Using her flashlight keychain as a source of light, she navigated to the restroom and went inside. Outside of the restroom, Monique and two members of her squad had stolen the keys to the bathroom. There are no inside locks on the bathroom doors; this is to prevent students from locking the door from the inside to have fights in the bathroom.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" One of the cheerleaders asked. "We could get into a lot of trouble for stealing the bathroom keys.."

"Shh. Quiet." Monique hushed her. "She's getting what she deserves. That little freak stole my boyfriend."

"Ex." The second girl chimed in.

"Shut it." The blonde snapped. "If I can't have Axel, _nobody_ can; _especially_ not _her_. If I have to take him down with her, then so be it. I have a plan for how to exact my revenge, but it's going to take a while for everything to fall into place. In the meantime," she locked the door, "take your time, Nikki. Something tells me you'll be in there for a while.."

Monique cackled sadistically, and she and the other two cheerleaders left.

When Nikki was finished, she washed her hands and attempted to leave the bathroom, but when she went to open the door, she saw that the door wouldn't budge. Thinking the door was stuck, she bumped it to try to loosen it up. When that didn't work, she tried jiggling the handle. That didn't work either. She soon realized that she had been locked in.

"Oh, that's just fucking perfect.." Nikki grumbled. "I'm locked in. It was probably some jackass taking advantage of the blackout." She sighed. "Guess I'll be in here for a while.. How am I going to pass the time?"

…

The storm finally cleared up after two hours. The fire dept. reached the school and cleared the damaged power line, and deemed it safe for everyone to leave the building. On the way out, one of the teachers realized, after a headcount, that one of the students was unaccounted for. The teachers searched the school, and came across the locked bathroom. They unlocked it, and found Nikki fast asleep inside.

"H-How could she sleep through all that?" Ven asked.

"It's Nikki." Sandy said simply. "She could sleep through the end of the world."

One of the teachers picked up Nikki and carried her, and the students were taken to the buses.

When Nikki finally woke up, she was on the bus, and she was leaning against Axel.

"Afternoon, Sunshine~." He greeted. "Sleep well?"

"Wha-?" She exclaimed, immediately jumping away from him and moving as far away as she could without falling off the seat. "What the hell is going on?"

Axel summed up everything that happened. "The storm cleared up, then the fire dept. came and cleared the line, and now everybody's going home. They found you asleep in the bathroom. Speaking of which, you're a lot less threatening when you're sleeping."

Nikki blushed, and recovered and growled, "You better not have tried anything-"

"Don't worry sweetheart, I didn't. If I'm going to touch a girl, I'd rather do it while she was awake."

She twitched. "What did I tell you about calling me 'sweetheart?'"

"To not to?"

"Exactly."

"What can I say? I'm a horrible listener."

"Apparently."

As the bus drove down the road, Axel was in deep thought. _"She was trapped in a dark room during a really bad thunderstorm, and the first thing she did was take a nap? She doesn't scare easy.. Finding her weakness is going to be tougher than I thought…"_

…

- Tuesday -

…

Gym class.

The class was playing dodge ball. They were playing with rubber balls, not balls that were made out of foam.

Axel and Nikki were on separate teams. He made a personal vow that if anyone was going to hit the brunette with a ball, it was going to be him. Every time one of his teammates went to throw a ball at her, he 'accidentally' bumped into them, messing up their throws. Even if he didn't interfere, it wasn't like they could hit her anyway. The girl had the reflexes of a cat.

Monique was angry. Axel was willing to make their team lose so that Nikki wouldn't get hit. As far as she was concerned, he should be doing that for _her_. Seeing Ven standing next to the brunette, and knowing how attached she was to him, Monique walked over to one of the jocks and asked him to throw a ball at the underclassman. He threw the ball, and it hit Ven in the face, breaking his nose. Mr. Ryan saw the ball hit him and blew his whistle frantically, stopping the game.

"Oh my God, Ven!" Nikki exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"Aaugh!" Ven cried out. "M-My nose! I-I think it's broken!"

Nikki grasped Ven's face in her hands and examined his nose.

"Yup." She said. "It's broken, alright."

"Am I bleeding?"

"Oh yeah."

"By God, you're bleeding like a faucet, soldier!" Mr. Ryan exclaimed. He waved his large hand at the other students. "Everyone stay put! I'm taking him to the nurse."

"Don't worry Mr. Ryan, I'll take him." Nikki said.

"Very well then." Mr. Ryan agreed. "I'll go get you a hall pass."

He left momentarily to get a hall pass. Once he left, Axel approached them.

"Is he alright?" He asked.

"Yeah, he's fine. His nose is just broken." Nikki said. "What the hell do you care?"

"He's my best friend's brother." Axel said. "I have a right to be concerned."

Nikki growled. "Where's the son-of-a-bitch that threw that ball? I'll shove my fist down his throat."

"It could have been an accident." The redhead reasoned.

"It hit him too hard for it to be an accident. Whoever threw that ball did it on purpose."

He couldn't argue with that kind of logic. He took a look at Ven, who was using a wad of paper towels to cover his nose. There was so much blood, it stained the brown paper a muddy red.

"Wow, he's bleeding pretty bad." Axel pointed out, grimacing. "Doesn't all this blood bother you? Even a little?"

"No." Nikki said. "I saw my own blood more than once. I've made other people bleed too; by beating the crap out of them. It doesn't bother me."

Mr. Ryan returned a couple minutes later with the hall pass, and Nikki left with Ven. As Mr. Ryan cleaned the blood off the floor with a paper towel, Axel confronted Monique; knowing she had something to do with it.

"What the hell was that?" He demanded.

"What was what?" Monique asked innocently. "I had nothing to do with that."

"Bullshit." He snapped. "I know all about your grudge against Nikki. If you want to give her shit, that's fine because she can take anything you throw at her and brush it off. But leave Ven out of it. If I have to tell you again, we're going to have a problem. Got it memorized?"

Before the blonde had a chance to respond, Axel stormed away.

…

- Thursday -

…

Today was the day of the zoo trip.

The students signed up for the trip gathered outside the school, and the chaperones gave a headcount before everyone got on the bus. Nikki, Sandy, and Ven sat in a cluster in the back of the bus, and Axel and Roxas sat nearby.

"Are you still trying to find out what Nikki's fear is?" Roxas asked.

Axel nodded. "Yup."

"What could be at the zoo that she would be afraid of?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out." Axel said. He added in his mind, _"The zoo has all kinds of animals. Odds are, one of them is bound to freak her out."_

After an hour, the bus reached the zoo. The students were given free reign to go to any part of the zoo that they wanted, and there was one rule: that everyone must be back at the bus by three.

Nikki, Sandy and Ven explore the zoo, with Axel and Roxas following not far behind them.

After wandering around and seeing some of the animals, Sandy managed to drag Nikki inside the reptile and insect house. Axel deduced that she was either afraid of reptiles or bugs. There was only one way to find out. As the trio went inside, he and Roxas followed them.

The house was divided into two parts; insects and reptiles. Reptiles were on the right, and the insects were on the left.

Nikki separated from Sandy and Ven, and Roxas and Axel went their own way as well. The redhead found her looking at the snakes.

"_Fear of snakes is a common phobia. Maybe they'll scare her."_ Axel thought as watched her.

To his dismay, she showed no fear. Instead, she was looking at the serpents in fascination. She seemed to show interest in one in particular; a Burmese Python. It's twelve foot long body was tightly coiled, and it was staring at her with its beady eyes. It showed no signs of aggression.

"_Maybe not." _He retracted his previous thought. _"Then again, they're behind glass. If one of them happened to escape, then she might think differently."_

As if on cue, there was a sudden crashing noise; broken glass, most likely, and some other zoo patrons ran by them, screaming. At that moment, the zoo speakers turned on.

"Attention, everyone." The announcer said. "A king cobra has fallen out of its containment unit. This snake is extremely venomous. Everyone must leave the reptile house immediately."

Axel looked over at Nikki. When she is about to move, he spots something near her feet. It was the escaped cobra.

"Nikki, don't move!" He yelled. "It's right behind you!"

Nikki froze when she heard a hissing noise behind her. Slowly turning around, she saw the snake a couple feet away from her. The cobra was only a juvenile, with bright colors adorning its body. Its hood was extended, and it was standing up and hissing; a sign of aggression. The cobra soon turned around and slunk away, and as soon as Nikki saw the back of its hood, she moved in. To Axel's amazement, she grabbed the cobra just behind its head, and grabbed the end of its tail. The snake was hissing still, but when she whistled to it in a certain tune, it stopped. Axel was dumbstruck.

"_She just grabbed a venomous snake, a king cobra no less, charmed it, and showed it no sign of fear. This chick's got balls of steel.. I think it's safe to say that she is definitely _not_ afraid of snakes."_

Zoo officials soon arrived to take the juvenile cobra, and were shocked to find that a high school student easily subdued a venomous king cobra. They took the snake away to put it in a temporary container, and the zoo announcers declared that it was safe to come back into the house. However, the area where its former container fell was taped off so no one could step on the broken glass.

"That was impressive." Axel said. "You showed that snake who's boss."

Nikki scratched the back of her head. "Thanks. I saw something like that on Animal Planet once."

The two walked towards the exit, and on the way, they passed the insects, and Nikki spotted a giant spider near the entrance to the insect house. She froze and stared at the spider with the 'deer-in-headlights' look, and it seemed to be staring back at her. When Axel moved to open the door, he stopped when he didn't hear any footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Nikki staring at the spider with something in her eyes; was it fear?

"Hey, is something wrong?" He asked.

"Hm?" She shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing. I was noticing how big that spider is."

"Wow." Axel whistled after looking at the spider. "That _is_ a big spider. Want to go take a look at it?"

Nikki shook her head. "Not really."

"Come on." The redhead urged. "You're not afraid of a little bug, are you?"

"What? No! Of course not!" Nikki denied.

Axel and Nikki walked over to the container and looked at the spider, and Axel read the description under its container.

"'Solifugae are an order of Arachnida, known as camel spiders, wind scorpions and sun spiders or solifuges, comprising more than 1,000 described species in about 153 genera. They may grow to a length of 300 mm (12 in) including legs, and have a body comprising an opisthosoma (abdomen) and a prosoma (head) with conspicuously large chelicerae, which are also used for stridulation. Most species live in deserts and feed opportunistically on ground-dwelling arthropods and other animals. A number of urban legends exaggerate the size and speed of Solifugae, and their potential danger to humans.' A camel spider, huh? Wow, look at the size of that thing. How big do you think it is?"

"Probably…" Nikki looked at the spider, and guessed, "a foot. Can we go now? That thing is staring at me and it's making me uncomfortable. Besides, I want to see the otters."

"As you wish, _ma dame_."

"Will you stop speaking French?" Nikki said. "You're even creepier than the spider."

"Ah~!" Axel exclaimed dramatically. "_Vous me blessez_, _ma beauté regardée de bleu_~!"

Nikki smacked him. "Stop it! I can't understand a word you're saying!"

Axel laughed.

As they exited the house, Monique was watching them from around the corner, with two of her squad members behind her.

"Monique, this isn't working." Said one of the cheerleaders. "We let the snake out, but she didn't even bat an eyelash. Face it, nothing scares her."

"Yeah." The second cheerleader agreed. "Maybe we should forget about the whole thing and stop before we get in trouble."

Monique shook her head, smirking evilly. "There's no need. I have all the information I need. Let's go girls. I have to put in a suggestion for this year's Halloween theme…"

…

- Monday -

…

When Nikki walked into school Monday morning, she immediately wanted to leave.

Fake webs covered every wall and hung in the doorways, and frighteningly realistic spiders were hanging from ceilings, doors, and walls. The theme for the year was spiders.

Spiders, spiders, spiders.

Spiders _everywhere_.

Students were allowed to wear their costumes on Halloween, so everyone was dressed up; even the teachers. To her dismay, some were dressed like spiders.

For a costume, Nikki was dressed as a rabbit; her favorite animal. She wore all white, with rabbit paw gloves and shoes, painted whiskers, and a headband with rabbit ears. She and her friends dressed up the same way every year. Sandy dressed as an otter, Harriet was a Gothic princess, Cassandra was a bumblebee, and Maggie was a witch, and Nikki herself was always a rabbit.

"Hey, Nikki!"

Ven approached her, wearing a strange suit of armor, and carried around a key-like blade made out of wood.

"How do you like my costume?" He asked. "Is it badass?"

"It's badass, Ven." Nikki said.

"Thanks." Said Ven. "My friends back in Radiant Garden made it for me. Aqua made the armor and Terra made me this blade. What's your costume?"

"I'm a rabbit." She said.

"Shouldn't you be wearing a bunny suit?"

"I am _not_ wearing a bunny suit. I'd look stupid."

Nikki checked the clock.

"Uh-oh." She said. "We'd better get to gym class and change, or we'll be late and Mr. Ryan will make us run laps.."

Ven's face went pale, and the pair hurried to the gym and into the lockers rooms so they could change before class started.

…

Lunch.

Nikki was uneasy.

She went the whole half of the day seeing nothing but spiders. She just wanted to get through the day and just go home so she could get ready for trick-or-treating.

"Hey Nikki~."

Nikki turned around and saw Monique standing behind her, with a conniving smirk on her face and her hands behind her back. She stood up, and readied herself for a confrontation.

"Monique? What are you-?"

"Boo~!" Monique blurted out, and threw something from her hands; a handful of fake spiders.

Nikki stared wide-eyed as the spiders flew towards her, and screamed when they hit her, flailing her arms around to get them off. The spiders were sticky, so they stuck to her. She stumbled backward and tripped over the chair, knocking a nearby student's tray out of their hands. The food fell off the tray and the metal hit her in the head and clattered off the floor. Her white costume was stained to the colors of the food. She fell to the floor, screaming as she tried to get the remaining spiders off of her. When she stopped, she suddenly realized that everyone had seen her have a spazz attack. The other students stared at her for a few seconds before they burst into all-out laughter. Humiliated, Nikki got up and ran out of the cafeteria.

Axel had seen the whole thing. He knew that Nikki was afraid of spiders since Thursday when she saw the camel spider and stared at it like a deer in headlights. There was fear in her eyes then, and it was definitely there a few seconds ago when she had fake adhesive spiders thrown at her.

He was disgusted. Everyone else may have seen it as a harmless prank, but he saw it for what it really was; humiliation.

Then again, maybe there was a silver lining to this mess. Everyone was sure to exploit her fear of spiders now that they knew.

This could work to his advantage.

He left the cafeteria and headed for the bathroom; the one place where girls go to hide. He had no qualms about entering the girl's bathroom, pushing the door open and stepping inside. Even from outside the door, he could hear her crying. He pushed on the stall doors, stopping when he reached the one that wouldn't open.

"I know you're in there, Nikki." He said.

"Get away from me!" She yelled. "Why are you even here? Do you want to laugh at me too? Oh, guess what, big, tough, scary Nikki is afraid of a little spider! Ha ha ha! Go ahead! Laugh! Get it all out of your system!"

"I'm not here to laugh at you, Nikki." Axel said sincerely. "Come on, open the door."

There was a few seconds of silence before the lock on the stall door clicked, and it slowly opened.

Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her face was covered with tear trails, mustard smudges, and smeared bunny makeup.

"If you're not here to laugh at me, then what _are_ you here for?" She asked.

"I just wanted to see if you were okay." He said.

"Well, considering I was just humiliated in front of the entire school, I'm just _peachy_." She drawled sarcastically. "How the hell did Monique find out? I never even… Unless… unless she saw the way I acted at the zoo when we were looking at that camel spider.. She's always trying to hurt me, so I'm not surprised that she pulled this shit."

"Speaking of spiders," Axel plucked an adhesive spider off her head. "you missed one."

"AH! Get that thing away from me!" Nikki yelled, smacking the spider out of his hand. "I _hate_ spiders!"

Instead of flying across the room, the spider stuck to her hand. Nikki panicked, and shook her hand frantically, trying to get the fake arachnid off. Axel grabbed her wrist and took the spider off, tossing it in the trash.

"There. It's off." He said. "Better?"

"Yeah." Nikki sighed.

"If you need to vent, go ahead and let it out. I won't judge you for it."

Nikki stood there for half a minute, debating in her mind what she should do. When she made up her mind, she let herself fall against Axel as she started crying again. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair as she sobbed against his chest. With her face buried against his chest, Nikki was unable to see the dark look in his eyes and his malicious smirk. Without knowing it, she was doing exactly what he wanted.

"_It's only a matter of time, sweetheart." _Axel thought deviously. _"It's only a matter of time… before you're _mine_…"_

…

…

_ma dame_: my lady

_Vous me blessez, ma beauté regardée de bleu: _You wound me, my blue-eyed beauty


	9. Snap

Banshee: Hi everybody~! Here's chapter 9~!

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.

* * *

><p>Chapter Nine: Snap<p>

* * *

><p>Recap:<p>

"_That was impressive." Axel said. "You showed that snake who's boss."_

_Nikki scratched the back of her head. "Thanks. I saw something like that on Animal Planet once."_

_The two walked towards the exit, and on the way, they passed the insects, and Nikki spotted a giant spider near the entrance to the insect house. She froze and stared at the spider with the 'deer-in-headlights' look, and it seemed to be staring back at her. When Axel moved to open the door, he stopped when he didn't hear any footsteps behind him. He turned around and saw Nikki staring at the spider with something in her eyes; was it fear?_

"_Hey, is something wrong?" He asked._

"_Hm?" She shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing. I was noticing how big that spider is."_

"_Wow." Axel whistled after looking at the spider. "That is a big spider. Want to go take a look at it?"_

_Nikki shook her head. "Not really."_

"_Come on." The redhead urged. "You're not afraid of a little bug, are you?"_

…

"_Why are you even here? Do you want to laugh at me too? Oh, guess what, big, tough, scary Nikki is afraid of a little spider! Ha ha ha! Go ahead! Laugh! Get it all out of your system!"_

"_I'm not here to laugh at you, Nikki." Axel said sincerely. "Come on, open the door."_

_There was a few seconds of silence before the lock on the stall door clicked, and it slowly opened._

_Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her face was covered with tear trails, mustard smudges, and smeared bunny makeup._

"_If you're not here to laugh at me, then what are you here for?" She asked._

"_I just wanted to see if you were okay." He said._

"_Well, considering I was just humiliated in front of the entire school, I'm just peachy." She drawled sarcastically. "How the hell did Monique find out? I never even… Unless… unless she saw the way I acted at the zoo when we were looking at that camel spider.. She's always trying to hurt me, so I'm not surprised that she pulled this shit."_

"_Speaking of spiders," Axel plucked an adhesive spider off her head. "you missed one."_

"_AH! Get that thing away from me!" Nikki yelled, smacking the spider out of his hand. "I _hate_ spiders!"_

_Instead of flying across the room, the spider stuck to her hand. Nikki panicked, and shook her hand frantically, trying to get the fake arachnid off. Axel grabbed her wrist and took the spider off, tossing it in the trash._

"_There. It's off." He said. "Better?"_

"_Yeah." Nikki sighed._

"_If you need to vent, go ahead and let it out. I won't judge you for it."_

_Nikki stood there for half a minute, debating in her mind what she should do. When she made up her mind, she let herself fall against Axel as she started crying again. He wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair as she sobbed against his chest. With her face buried against his chest, Nikki was unable to see the dark look in his eyes and his malicious smirk. Without knowing it, she was doing exactly what he wanted._

"It's only a matter of time, sweetheart." _Axel thought deviously. _"It's only a matter of time… before you're _mine_…"

…

…

_Dark in the city, night is a wire_

_Steam in the subway, earth is afire_

_Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do~_

_Woman you want me, give me a sign_

_And catch my breathing even closer behind_

_Do do do do do do do do do do do do do do~_

…

_In touch with the ground_

_I'm on the hunt, I'm after you_

_Smell like I sound, I'm lost in a crowd_

_And I'm hungry like the wolf_

_Straddle the line in discord and rhyme_

_I'm on the hunt, I'm after you_

_Mouth is a live, with juices like wine_

_And I'm hungry like the wolf_

…

…

Early November.

Almost a week has passed since the sticky spider incident on Halloween, and Nikki was still facing unbearable torment from the other students. Seeing such a tough and intimidating girl fall apart at the sight of a little eight-legged bug was too good of an opportunity to pass up. Sometimes she would walk through a door, triggering a booby trap that would dump a bucketful of fake spiders on her. Other times, spiders would be thrown at her at random, some the adhesive kind, sticking to her uniform.

Teachers were informed of the incidents, but they were brushed off as harmless pranks. They weren't 'harmless pranks' to Nikki. They had her so stressed out, she was sure that her heart would give out any day due to the constant scares and the harsh heckling that followed.

Nikki trudged through the hallway, silently thanking the heavenly being above that tomorrow was Saturday. Hopefully, this mess would be forgotten by Monday; _hope_ being the key word there. It was still early; school hadn't started yet. She still had a whole day before she could go home where she was safe from the constant taunts.

She froze when she felt a hand on her shoulder and quickly turned around, grabbing the person's arm and twisting it, forcing them into submission.

"Ow! Ow! _OW_! Nikki, it's me, Ven!"

The familiar voice made her snap out of her defense mode, and she released the young boy's arm.

"Sorry about that, Ven." She apologized as Ven rubbed his sore arm. "I guess I've been a little jumpy lately.."

Ven scoffed. "A little? For the past few days, nobody can come near you without you going all pro-wrestler on them. You're not 'a little jumpy.' You're paranoid."

"You're right.." Nikki said, sighing. "I don't know what to do anymore. These constant pranks are driving me crazy. And nobody's putting a stop to it."

"Did you try telling the teachers?" Ven asked.

"I did. But they were all like, 'Oh, they're just a few harmless pranks. It's nothing to worry about.' They would just give most of these kids a slap on the wrist anyway. Mr. Ryan's the only reliable teacher as far as discipline is concerned, but the others don't agree with his methods of punishment."

"I'm too scared to ask what they are."

"Good, because you don't want to know."

"I know what he does." Vanitas chuckled darkly, sporting a mischievous smirk as he suddenly appeared behind the duo, wrapping his arms around their shoulders. "I hear he makes you run laps 'till you puke. Then he makes you _eat_ _it_, and makes you run some more."

"That's not true, Vanitas." Nikki denied as Ven's face turned green. "Cut it out, you're scaring Ven."

"Ah, you know I'm just fuckin' with ya. You should've seen your face, dude! It was _hilarious_! Ha ha ha!"

As Vanitas laughed, Ven glared at him.

"I'm not kidding about the laps, though." Said the raven; once he was done laughing. "He caught me skipping class and smoking on school grounds a few times, and made me run laps until my legs gave out."

"And now you know better, don't you?" Nikki asked in a 'matter-of-factly' tone.

"I know better than to skip his class. Mr. Ryan's not a pussy like the other teachers. He's the only teacher here that's actually serious about punishment. It sucks.."

Nikki raised an eyebrow; Vanitas didn't usually come around unless he wanted money or to cause mischief. "Okay, what do you want?"

"I don't want anything at the moment. But I have something for you~."

Seeing his wicked grin, Nikki's eyes widened and she backed away. "Vanitas, don't you _dare_!"

"Say hello to my little friend~!" Vanitas reached into his pocket and pulled out a little jar. In the jar was a little jumper spider. The spider was jumping around inside the jar frantically.

"Get that thing away from me!" Nikki shrieked as she hid behind Ven.

"Say hello to him and I'll let him go."

"Okay, fine! Hello! Happy now? Now get rid of it!"

Vanitas nodded. "As you wish." He twisted the lid on the jar and dropped the spider off in a nearby bush. "Well that was fun. I'm gonna go have a smoke. Peace."

"Little bastard…" Nikki growled as he left.

"He's just fooling around, Nikki." Ven assured. "Besides, with the way everyone's acting towards you lately, he's a saint."

"That's scary, considering he's _far_ from a saint." She deadpanned.

Ven looked at the clock. "Uh-oh. we've got two minutes to get to class."

Nikki groaned. "Then let's go and get this day over with.."

…

- Gym Class -

…

Today's game was, once again, dodge ball.

This time, Axel and Nikki were on the same team; much to Nikki's displeasure. But she had more important things to worry about; like releasing her pent-up anger. She put all her pent-up stress and rage into the game, throwing the balls as hard as she possibly could. However, her scrambled state of mind affected her aim, making her miss her targets constantly.

A few minutes in, Mr. Ryan stops the game to personally escort yet another student to the nurse for a broken nose. As soon as he left, one of the boys from the other team ran over to the bleachers, where he had stashed a large spider decoration from Halloween.

"Hey Nikki!" The boy called tauntingly. "Think fast!"

When Nikki turned around, he threw the spider at her, and she cringed when she saw the spider flying towards her. Standing there like a deer in headlights, she used her arms for a shield and waited for the hit, but it never came. Axel intercepted the throw, and caught the spider in his hand.

"I don't think Mr. Ryan would appreciate it if he knew that you were disrespecting his favorite game by throwing around Halloween decorations.." Axel warned. "It wouldn't be good for you if he happened to find out…"

The boy's face went pale. "Y-You wouldn't…" He stammered. "You can't tell him! My legs still hurt from the last time he made me run laps!"

"Try me."

The boy backed off rather quickly at his challenge. He threw the spider to the side and turned to Nikki.

"You alright?" He asked.

Nikki had composed herself, but she wasn't happy about him coming to her rescue. "I don't need your help." She growled. "I can handle myself."

"Oh yeah," Axel rolled his eyes. "You've been handling yourself real well this past week."

"Shut up!" She snapped. "This has nothing to do with you!"

"I'm only trying to help. You don't have to bite my head off."

Immediately afterward, Mr. Ryan entered the gym, completely unaware of what transpired while he was gone, with the student right next to him with a bandaged nose. The game resumed, but the student was allowed to sit out for the day.

…

- Health -

…

The beginning of class.

Nikki walked into the room and sat down at her desk, reaching her hand inside to store her books. She froze when her fingers brushed against something sticky and hairy, and pulls her hand out of the desk. An adhesive spider was attached to her hand. She screamed and flailed her arms, and knocked herself backwards and fell off her chair. It was silent for a few seconds before the class started laughing.

Axel, who was sitting nearby, got up out of his chair and walked over to her. He helped her up and removed the spider, tossing it away.

"Stop laughing!" Sandy yelled. "It's not funny!"

"You're absolutely right, Sandra." Mrs. Sanchez, who had seen everything, agreed. "It's _not_ funny _at all_. This is a senior class, and I expect students from the twelfth grade to handle situations like these in a grown-up manner; especially considering you're almost adults. Mature adults _do not_ laugh at another person's misfortune, _especially_ if that person could get hurt. I will _not_ tolerate pranks and immaturity in my class. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Mrs. Sanchez." The class droned.

"Very good."

Mrs. Sanchez then turned around and started writing on the board.

…

- Science -

…

Sometimes, Mr. Lincoln will give the class a break from regular work by putting in a documentary for the students to watch. Normally, this would have been a good thing, but today, the documentary that was chosen was _far_ from what Nikki wanted to see.

The documentary… was about spiders…

To avoid looking at the screen or hearing the words, she put her earphones in and put her head down on the desk.

…

- After School -

…

Nikki had never been more relieved in her life than when that final bell rang. She was so anxious to hear it, that when it went off she was one of the first to leave the room and was also one of the first to leave the building.

"Hey."

Nikki stopped at the familiar voice, knowing full well who it belonged to.

"What?" She asked irritably.

"You alright?" He asked.

"I'm feeling better now that the day's over." She paused for a second. "I want to ask you something. Do you think everyone will forget about it by Monday?"

"Maybe." He said. "Most teenagers have the memory capacity of a goldfish. They'll probably forget all about it."

"That makes me feel a little better… I think."

…

- Monday -

…

When Nikki returned to school, to her disdain, her classmates still hadn't forgotten her fear of spiders.

Throughout the morning, they continued to torment her with fake spiders, and soon her fear slowly started to turn into anger.

Come lunch time, she was on her last nerve, and her friends feared that her reaction to the next prank would be a violent one. They saw it in her posture, the way she ground her teeth, and the way she stabbed her lunch tray.

When they saw a boy approach her with his hands behind his back, they knew exactly what to expect. They braced themselves for the coming explosion.

"Hey Nikki." The boy taunted. "Turn around, I wanna show you something."

Nikki shakily turned around, the hand that was holding her spork was still using it to stab the tray. When she turned around, the boy took his hands out from behind his back. In his hand was a large tarantula. It stayed still in his hand, not moving except for a few twitches here and there. Nikki's eyes widened at the sight of the spider, but instead of screaming, her face turned red as her fists tightened to the point where her knuckles turned white.

"This is Terry the Tarantula. He really likes you. Maybe you should give him a kiss, eh?"

While everyone else laughed, Nikki's friends backed away to the other side of the table when they sensed her angry aura spiked. The laughter stopped when she banged her fist against the table.

"Someone's getting a kiss, but it isn't the tarantula." She growled as she stood up and cracked her knuckles. "_Pucker up_."

She let out an enraged scream and lunged forward, her hand balled up into a fist, and punched the boy square in the face. The force of the hit sent the boy flying across the cafeteria and into the tables, knocking them over like a bunch of pins in a bowling alley. In the chaos, the tarantula was sent flying into the air. When the dust settled, everyone stared at Nikki in shock.

"_WELL_?" Nikki demanded, shaking her fist at the other students. "Are there any more spiders you want to show me? Anybody else want a piece of me? _HUH_? COME ON! BRING IT!"

There was silence, and her classmates timidly retreated back to their tables.

"That's what I thought! Bunch of pussies!"

She sat back down, and let out a huge sigh. She smiled and proclaimed, "That felt good!"

"Are you feeling better now?" Ven asked.

"Sure I am." She said. "All that rage I was feeling is pretty much gone now. I should have done that sooner."

"That was _badass_!" Sandy exclaimed. "Nobody will be pranking you anymore."

"After what just happened, only an idiot would do it." Harriet said.

"Does this mean you've conquered your spider phobia, Nikki?" Cassandra asked.

"Hell no." Was Nikki's immediate response. "Spiders always have, and always will, creep me out."

"Speaking of spiders…" Sandy said. "What happened to that tarantula?"

The group immediately looked at Nikki, and, sure enough, there was the tarantula, looking nice and cozy on her shoulder.

"Um… Nikki.." Ven said.

"Yeah, Ven?"

"Y-You have a… a-a…" He stuttered.

"What's the matter?" Nikki asked.

"Well, um.." Sandy trailed off, not quite sure what to say. "You have a little something on your…"

The others weren't sure what to say. Luckily for them, Harriet was able to find the right words as she said, rather bluntly, "The tarantula is on your shoulder."

Nikki froze, and looked at her shoulder. Just like Harriet said, the tarantula was on her shoulder, and it seemed to be quite comfortable there.

Her eyebrows furrowed.

"Uh-uh." She said, shaking her head. "Sorry fella, but you gotta get off."

She put her hand up, and the tarantula climbed onto it. Despite being creeped out, she didn't scream or try to throw it away.

She sighed. "Okay, who wants a pet tarantula?"

"No way." Ven said. "That thing's creepy."

Maggie agreed. "Ditto."

"Ew, no!" Sandy exclaimed, backing away.

"Um.. N-No thanks…" Cassandra stammered.

"I already have one." Said Harriet.

"Well _I'm_ not keeping it." Nikki huffed.

"I'll take it."

Nikki looked behind her to see Axel.

"Really?" She asked. "You sure you want this thing?"

He shrugged. "Sure, why not? I'll just think of it as a present from my favorite girl."

Nikki rolled her eyes. "Ugh.." She handed him the spider. "Congratulations. You now have a pet tarantula. His names is Terry. Now please get it away from me."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the cafeteria, the cheerleaders were watching from their table. They had seen the whole thing.

Monique's plan was to find Nikki's fear and exploit it by exposing it to the entire school, and the heckling that followed would reduce her to a sniveling weakling, hopefully making Axel lose interest in her and stop pursuing her, running back to the blonde. However, her plan had the complete opposite effect. Instead of Axel losing interest in Nikki, he was even _more _interested in her, much to Monique's disdain. Axel seemed to take advantage of the situation, using every opportunity that Monique's plan had presented him with to try to win Nikki's heart. He seemed to have the same plan as well, although their intentions differed.

The previous week, he was always around to protect Nikki whenever someone approached her with a spider. Even today, he was there. He was there to protect her, and when she got scared to the point of crying, he was there before anyone else to comfort her.

In case you haven't noticed, Monique's plan to exploit Nikki's fear of spiders, while successful at first, became a horrible failure. Obviously she didn't take Nikki's rage into account; she didn't count on Nikki retaliating, and she also didn't count on Axel interfering.

"So much for your plan, Monique." One of the cheerleaders remarked.

"This isn't working." Said the other cheerleader. "Everything we've tried so far has only made him more interested in her. Maybe we should stop before things get out of hand.."

Monique growled. "I'm not going to give up because my plan to exploit her fears has failed. We'll just have to try harder…"

…

…


	10. Vanilla Cupcakes

**Banshee: Hi everybody! I'm SO sorry this took so long, but I've had MAJOR writer's block lately, and plus I had other stories I was working on. This chapter, and the next two are going to be filler chapters because I'm working on a 6-part chapter. Yay, fillers~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Ten: Vanilla Cupcakes<p>

* * *

><p><em>Superstar, where you from, how's it going? <em>

_I know you, got a clue what you're doing_

_You can play brand new to all the other chicks out here _

_But I know what you are, what you are, baby_

_…_

_Look at you, gettin' more than just re-up_

_Baby, you got all the puppets with their strings up_

_Fakin' like a good one, but I call 'em like I see 'em _

_I know what you are, what you are, baby_

_…_

_Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer O_

_h womanizer, oh you're a womanizer baby You you you are, you you you are_

_Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer (womanizer)_

_…_

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_B__oy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are _

…

_(You) You got me going _

_(You) You're oh so charming _

_(You) But I can't do it_

_(You) You womanizer _

…

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_…_

_(You) You say I'm crazy_

_(You) I got your crazy_

_(You) You're nothing but a_

_(You) Womanizer_

…

_Daddy-o, you've got the swagger of a champion_

_Too bad for you, you just can't find the right companion_

_I guess when you have one too many, makes it hard, it could be easy_

_Who you are, that's just who you are, baby_

_…_

_Lollipop, you must mistake you're the sucker_

_To think that I, would be a victim, not another_

_Say it, play how you want it_

_But no way I'm never gonna fall for you, never you, baby_

_…_

_Womanizer, woman-womanizer, you're a womanizer_

_Oh womanizer, oh you're a womanizer, baby_

_Y__ou you you are, you you you are_

_Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer (womanizer)_

_…_

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_…_

_(You) You got me going_

_(You) You're oh so charming_

_(You) But I can't do it_

_(You) You womanizer_

_…_

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_Boy don't try to front_

_I (I) know just (just) what you are-are-are_

_…_

_(You) You say I'm crazy_

_(You) I got your crazy_

_(You) You're nothing but a_

_(You) Womanizer_

…

…

Wednesday.

With the whole spider incident forgotten (no one would dare to antagonize her again, out of fear of getting cold-cocked like that last kid), Nikki was able to walk around the school without getting pranked. Some students still flinched and cowered as she passed by, and it gave her an odd sense of pride knowing that they wouldn't try to fuck with her ever again.

But lately, she had been feeling bored.

Every day after school, she went through the same routine day after day; hanging out with her friends, playing video games, and watching TV. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy doing those things. She just wanted to do something different for a change.

But what was she going to do?

As she passed by the front office, she noticed some pamphlets advertising some extracurricular activities. She looked through them, and saw one that piqued her interest; a cooking class being held in the Home Economics room. It was being held on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. With any luck, she could sign up.

"_This'll be perfect!"_ She thought excitedly. _"At least this'll give me something else to do for three days out of the week."_

Taking the pamphlet with her, Nikki headed to the Home Ec room. It was early, and classes hadn't started yet so she could talk to the teacher alone. Sure enough, she found the teacher just as she as heading inside the classroom.

The teacher's name was Kimberly Adams, or Ms. Adams as everyone called her. She is a tall, young, and fairly attractive woman with neat ear-length hair that she kept in place with bobby pins.

"Um, excuse me." Nikki said. "Ms. Adams?"

"Hm?" Ms. Adams paused as she reached for the door. "Oh, hello there. What can I help you with?"

Nikki held up the pamphlet. "This pamphlet says you're teaching a cooking class after school, and I was wondering if I could sign up."

"Oh, of course." She said. "Just let me check my roster to see if we have an opening."

Ms. Adams led Nikki inside, and she placed her things on her desk. As she was looking through her papers, Nikki looked around. The Home Ec room had desks for the students, but the kitchen took up most of the room. The tables were numbered, and the cooking stations on the other side of the room were numbered as well. Stoves lined the room from wall to wall, and the door to the pantry was locked tight; no doubt that room was huge too. A large walk-in refrigerator was also part of the pantry and it too was locked up. There was also a large sink.

"Ah! Here it is." The teacher said. She opened the roster for her cooking class and looked for an opening. "Luckily, there's one spot left. Just sign your name here, and I'll see you this afternoon, okay?"

"Oh, what a relief!" Nikki sighed as she grabbed the sign-up sheet and pen. "I've just been in a rut lately, and I really need something else to do after school.."

She signed the form and gave it back to Ms. Adams, who smiled.

"Thank you, Ms. Adams."

"It's no problem, dear. See you this afternoon~!"

The morning bell rang and Nikki headed off to class with an extra skip in her step as she hummed merrily all the way.

…

- After School -

…

Nikki was excited as she headed over to the Home Ec room. It was her first day in an official cooking class, and since she was already cooking before then she figured she had a leg up over most of the other students taking the class.

When she reached the classroom she plopped her backside in the first empty chair she could find.

"Well hello there, sweetheart~. Nice to see you again~…"

Nikki's cheerful demeanor shattered as soon as she heard that smooth, cocky voice.

"_There is no way my luck is that bad.."_ She thought. She turned her head to see a familiar redhead sitting next to her, and as soon as she saw him her head jerked back so she was looking at the front of the room.

"_Yeah.. It's that bad…"_

Fuck.

"What the _hell_ are you doing here?" She hissed.

"Taking a cooking class." Axel said nonchalantly. Even though he knew that she was there for the same reason, he asked with a cheeky grin, "And you~?"

"I don't need to explain myself to you." Nikki seethed. "And why is it that every time I go somewhere, you're there? Are you stalking me, or something?"

"Maybe our paths keep crossing because the fates have decided that we are a perfect match." Nikki rolled her eyes at that. "Or it's probably just a coincidence that we keep ending up in situations like this."

"_Huh. 'Coincidence' my __**ass**__."_

"Either way, I don't mind at all."

"Will you quit beating around the bush and just answer my question?"

That was a wrong choice of words, and she just realized it when she saw his smirk widen after she said the word 'bush.'

"You say one perverted remark, or even a chuckle, and I swear to God I will stuff your head into the microwave and keep it there until it explodes." She growled, the look in her eyes saying that she was dead serious about her threat.

"To answer your question, no, I'm not stalking you. I signed up for this class before you did." Axel said. He added with mock-hurt, "Why would you think I'm stalking you? I'm hurt that you would accuse me of something as creepy and invasive as stalking."

"I wouldn't put it past you." Nikki deadpanned.

"Oh really?" Axel asked, taking advantage of the fact that she was looking away from him by inching his seat closer to her. "And why's that~?"

Nikki just kept talking, unaware of the fact that Axel was getting closer and closer. "Well for one you're a creep and a pervert, and you have no concept of personal space. You're always in my face, and you're always so close that I can smell that obnoxious body spray you're always wearing - 'Axe,' or whatever the hell it is - and I'm pretty sure you drink too because I can sometimes smell alcohol on your breath. And then you try to cover it up by chewing gum, which you're doing right now, and WILL YOU STOP POPPING IT?! I HATE IT WHEN PEOPLE DO THAT! IT'S SO IRRITATING! Why is it so loud, anyway?"

She turned her head to the side and almost had a heart attack when she saw that Axel was so close that her nose touched his and she was staring right into his eyes; those bright, green eyes… How could such a douche bag like him have such beautiful eyes? He sat there with a smirk on his face as he chewed his gum, occasionally popping it just to irritate her.

"Axel.."

"Yes~?"

"Stop it." She growled, referring to the gum popping. "And while you're at it, GET OUT OF MY FACE!"

Axel did as she 'requested' and moved his seat back, but not before giving her a light peck on the nose. Nikki was absolutely livid at this point, that one action filling her with so much anger that she was ready to explode. She grabbed the nearest chair and was about to pick it up and use it to bash Axel's head in when she saw Ms. Adams walk in out of the corner of her eye. Her hands shaking, she let go of the chair and moved so she was facing the front of the room, her eyes cutting to the side to glare daggers at Axel, who sat there with a smug grin on his face. With any luck, one of the daggers would pop into the realm of reality and plunge itself into his forehead; which wasn't likely.

"Hello everyone~," Ms. Adams greeted cheerily. "Today, we're making pastries and desserts."

There was a collective 'ooh~' by the other students; mostly girls. Who doesn't love pastries?

"You can pick whatever pastry you want, but you have to make it from scratch. A real cook makes food from scratch, not from pre-packaged ingredients. I don't want to see any cake mix, or anything of the sort. Baking can be a bit time-consuming, so I'll set you up into pairs; you'll get twice the work done~! Now let's see.. Whoever you're sitting with at your table is your partner, how about that?"

"_It's official.."_ Nikki thought grimly. _"God hates me.."_

"You have until the end of the class. Begin."

The students filed towards the filing cabinet full of recipes, picking out the ones that they and their partners agreed on before going to the cooking station with the same number as their seats. Nikki went over without waiting for Axel, and started looking through the pastry recipes. When it came to cooking, she had plenty of experience with it. What she loved the most was baking, which she did a lot with her mother, sister, and grandmother, so she felt very comfortable and confident with this assignment. She had her heart set on brownies, and was looking for the recipe card, but frowned when she couldn't find it. It must have been already taken.

Cakes? No.

Pie? No; Axel would make too many perverted pie jokes.

Cookies? Nah.

Wait… What's this? Cupcakes? Perfect! Their baking time is a lot shorter than regular cakes, and they were just like cakes except they were bite-sized. She could make a lot of them, too; meaning that she could share them with her friends and family.

But there was one problem: Her 'partner.'

Said partner was leaning against the filing cabinet, watching her as she looked through the recipe cards, not saying a word, until…

"Cupcakes? Is that what you want to do?" He asked.

"Um…" She paused as she looked through the numerous cupcake recipes. "Sure, why not? No one else is making them."

"Hm…" Axel hummed as he watched her file through the recipes. When she reached the recipe card for a vanilla cupcake, he reached in and snatched it out of her hands.

"Hey!" She exclaimed. "I was looking at that!"

"You were taking too long. Besides, who doesn't like vanilla?"

"You have a point there.." She said, mentally kicking herself for agreeing with him. "Vanilla _is_ a popular flavor."

"I like vanilla." The redhead proclaimed. "It reminds me of you~. I can smell it whenever I'm around you."

Nikki gave him a flat look. "So you're saying I smell like vanilla…?"

"Yeah~.. It's sexy~…" Axel purred, earning a glare from her. "Do you wear perfume, or is that your natural scent?"

The brunette glared at him and scoffed. "Like I'm gonna tell you. Now give me that card back so I can get the ingredients together."

"Can I help~?"

"NO!"

"But I'm your partner~…" He whined.

"I don't care!" Nikki yelled. "I don't want you touching any of the ingredients! You might infect them with whatever diseases you picked up from your 'dates!'"

Without another word, Nikki snatched the recipe card from Axel and stormed towards the pantry. She grabbed some all-purpose flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, vanilla extract, and shortening from the pantry, and 2% milk and four large eggs from the fridge. The baking directions were on the card along with the ingredients, which took all the guesswork out of how to bake them. She remembered the number on her table; six, and walked over to the cooking station that was also labeled 'six.' Axel was already there, grabbing the equipment needed to make the cupcakes (Nikki said not to touch the ingredients; she didn't say anything about the tools).

Axel watched as she set the oven to three-hundred and fifty degrees, then went over to the mixer where she starting mixing the ingredients together. As she measured out the flour, he said, "You know, this'll go by a lot faster if we work together."

"I don't need your help." She snapped. "I got this."

Nikki emptied the two cups of flour into the mixer and started measuring out the sugar; or, at least, she _thought_ it was sugar. In her irritation, she had accidentally grabbed the salt instead.

Axel noticed this.

"Um.. Nikki.."

"_What_?!"

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm measuring the sugar."

"That's salt."

"This isn't salt, it's…!" She looked at the container and read the label, about to say sugar, but stopped when she saw the word 'SALT' in big letters. "… salt…"

"Told you." Axel said in an 'Ah, ha, I told you so~' voice, smirking when Nikki turned and glared at him.

Instead of thanking him for stopping her from making a _horrible_ mistake, Nikki stuck her tongue out at him and dumped the salt back into the container. Then she grabbed the bag of sugar, after looking at it first to make sure it was sugar, and started measuring it.

"These cakes'll need frosting." Axel said, ignoring her lack of gratitude. "What goes best with vanilla?"

"Chocolate." Nikki answered immediately. "I don't know why, they're just _really_ good together; like peanut butter and jelly, or chips and salsa, or fish and chips, or-"

"Me and you~." The redhead purred in her ear, making her jump.

"There is no 'me and you!'" She exclaimed. She quickly added, "And there never will be! Now make yourself useful and make that chocolate frosting!"

So much for not being allowed to touch any of the ingredients..

He saluted her and said cheekily, "_Oui oui, mon joli capitaine_~."

Instead of berating him for speaking French again, Nikki just waved it off and went back to the sugar. Axel made his way to another mixer, getting the chocolate powder and other ingredients for the frosting. The mixer he was using was on the other side of the sink, and he could see Nikki in his peripheral vision. As he turned to grab the cocoa powder to add to the mixture, his back was turned to her and his lips curled into a diabolical smirk.

…

"_There is no 'me and you!' And there never will be!"_

…

"_That's what you think, sweetheart…"_ He thought devilishly.

All scheming aside, the redhead gingerly added cocoa powder to the frosting mixture, routinely tasting it to make sure it wasn't either too chocolatey or not chocolatey enough. After a few tries, he felt he got it right. But Nikki was 'the boss,' and she was his partner, so she needed to approve of it too. Using the same plastic spoon he had used to taste it, he took a little bit of the frosting and held it out to Nikki, and said, "Here. Try this."

"Hm?" Nikki looked up from putting the cupcake batter in the oven.

Axel couldn't believe how fast she was. They had only started a few minutes ago! How could she get nearly everything done that fast? _"She's finished with the batter already? Most of the other people haven't even gotten their stuff in the oven yet! This chick must have a lot of baking experience.."_

She looked at the spoon in his hand and narrowed her eyes at it. "It hasn't been in your mouth, has it?"

"Just try it." He ordered, moving the spoon closer to her.

Reluctantly, she opened her mouth as the spoon was placed inside, and as soon as the frosting hit her tongue she was hit with a pleasant dose of chocolate. It wasn't too much, or too little; it was just right, not enough to overpower the vanilla in any way.

"So?" He asked. "How is it?"

"… Good." She said. "Everything's mixed up, and now they just need to bake. Can you set the timer for, maybe, twenty five minutes?"

Axel nodded and set the timer on the oven to twenty five minutes. He asked her if the oven was the right temperature, and she insisted that she checked it before she put the batter in. Sure enough, the thermometer on the oven said three-hundred and fifty degrees.

Nikki seemed very passionate about baking, and he could see it in how closely she adhered to the directions, how precisely she measured the ingredients, and how it didn't matter if she got a little dirty in the process. She made sure everything was right down to the latter, and every time she did something it turned out pretty damn close to perfect. The batter she made was perfect, and it was even baking perfectly as it was cooking in the oven. He took note of how she stood by the oven with pride as she watched the cupcakes baking. Everything he saw proved that she had plenty of experience; most likely from her mother. It must have taken years of trial and error before she could make something without fucking it up. She probably started at a very young age.

The only way to be sure of it was to ask.

"You're pretty good at baking. Have you done it before?" He asked, already having a feeling of what the answer will be.

"Yeah. I've been baking since I was six-years-old." She proclaimed proudly. "My mom, my Nana, my sister and I bake all the time."

"Can you make anything else? You know, besides pastries?"

"I can make plenty of things." She said. "I can name a few things right off the top of my head. Let's see, I've made Sunday roast, fish and chips, scones, bubble and squeak, Full English breakfast, Shepherd's pie, Roast Aberdeen Angus beef, mince and tatties, and collops. That's just what I can name off the top of my head."

As she was naming the dishes, Axel sat there with confusion written all over his face. He had never heard of these dishes, and most of them had ridiculous names. He recognized 'fish and chips' and 'scones' as English dishes, and he had always heard that English food sucked. He never had it himself, but after everything he heard, he didn't want to. Although… if _she_ made it, then it would probably be good. If there's one thing girls like, it's a guy that enjoys her cooking.

He would have to get himself invited to her house for dinner sometime… maybe see how good her cooking really is; in other words, if it's worth having that much pride.

"Not that it's any of my business, but do you know anything about your heritage? You know, where your family is from, and such?"

"I'm half-English on my dad's side, and half-Scottish on my mom's side. My grandparents are hard to understand because of their accents, which are pretty heavy, but it's better than having them speak French and I won't have a clue what they're saying; like _you_." She paused for a second, then glared at Axel.

"Hey…" Nikki said warily. "I know what you're doing. Stop trying to get information out of me!"

"I just asked an innocent little question." Axel said smugly. "You didn't have to answer it."

Nikki just let out a huff and looked at the timer. The cupcakes were almost ready. To check on them, she took a toothpick and opened the oven, sticking the toothpick into the center of one of the cupcakes.

"They're done." She said after the toothpick came out clean several times.

"You sure?" Axel asked.

"The toothpick came out clean. They're done, all right."

The timer was turned off as Nikki put on an oven mitt and took the hot cupcake pan out of the oven. With Axel's help, she took out all the cupcakes, all twenty of them, onto a flat tray to be put in the fridge to cool down.

Once the little cakes were cool, they were taken out of the fridge and frosted.

"There. All finished." Nikki sighed contently as she frosted the last cupcake. She picked it up and held it out towards the redhead. "Here, have one."

"You're sharing one of your cupcakes with me?" Axel asked, surprised. "How sweet. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you're starting to open up to me…"

The brunette narrowed her eyes at him and growled, "I'm giving you a cupcake because I happen to be in a good mood right now. Now take the damn cupcake before I change my mind and give it to my dog when I get home."

Knowing she was dead serious, Axel took the cupcake from her without another word.

At the end of class, the students cleaned up their cooking stations and turned the ovens off so everything would be ready and clean when the Home Economics class came in the next day. Every pair presented their baked goods for Ms. Adams to evaluate. She was very pleased with the results of their work, and even asked for some to take home with her. She was especially pleased with Nikki and Axel's cupcakes, and gave them high marks for them. They were the only pair that made something with vanilla, which happened to be her favorite flavor. On top of asking for a few to take home, she commented on how they worked very well together and she was going to pair them up for every class from now on.

When it was all done and over with, Ms. Adams gave everyone boxes to take their goods home. She gave Axel and Nikki cupcake boxes, and since they gave her six, and she and Axel ate two of them, they had twelve left. Nikki boxed up eight for herself, and since baking put her in a good mood, she gave Axel four. He was a little surprised when she held the box out to him.

"Don't read too much into it." She said, her expression and voice as serious as the Black Plague. "I'm just feeling generous because baking puts me in a good mood."

He didn't ask questions. He just took the box from her and watched as she gathered her things to leave.

As Axel walked home, he opened the box and started eating one the cupcakes. While he ate it, he breathed in the strong scent of vanilla mingling with chocolate, the scent making him think of Nikki.

He really did like vanilla. It was such a _sexy_ aroma. The fact that the brunette smelled like it made her more appealing to him; it was better than his exes, who wore perfume that made them either smell like an overly-fragrant bouquet of flowers, or it was a musky scent that reminded him of the prostitutes that hung around the bars that he had to pick his older brother up from - when he got drunk out of his mind while he was hanging out with his friends on a Friday night.

She was getting more appealing by the minute, and as he continued to eat the cupcake in his hand, he wondered if she would taste just as good.

…

…

**Oui oui, mon joli capitaine: **Aye aye, my lovely captain


	11. Passing Notes

**Banshee: Hi everybody! I know it's been a little while. I've been working on a few stories at once so the progress will be a little slow. But it will allow me to catch my mistakes a lot quicker. I finished another one of the filler chapters, and I just thought I'd post it before I have to go back to school tomorrow. Hope you enjoy it~!**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

**[[text]] - Axel**

**{{text}} - Nikki**

* * *

><p>Chapter Eleven: Passing Notes<p>

* * *

><p><em>I know what you're trying to do<em>

_Make me fall for you_

_Oh why?_

_I want you to leave_

_And leave me alone_

_Everywhere I go,_

_You'll always be there,_

_Try to give you hints to leave_

_But it's like it came of the other ear_

_…_

_I don't care what you do_

_I don't care about you_

_I don't care get a clue_

_Cause I don't really like you, I don't really like you_

…

_You and your friends are dense_

_You don't make any sense_

_It's all at your expense_

_Cause I don't really like you, I don't really like you_

…

…

December 3rd.

Monday.

Mr. Lincoln was going through another science lecture, using an overhead projector as he wrote down terms for the students to copy for their notebooks. Twenty minutes into the lecture, Nikki's nails were scratching her desk irritably as note after note was given to her by a certain redhead. He knew about Mr. Lincoln's zero-tolerance for note passing, but he did it anyway. Worst case scenario: Mr. Lincoln would catch on just as she got another note and order her to read it in front of the class. Knowing Axel, he would write something that would embarrass her if she had to read it aloud.

She still remembered the last time that had happened…

…

- Three Months Ago -

…

_[[Would you be offended if I said you have beautiful eyes?]]_

_Nikki twitched. She wrote her response in jagged handwriting and passed the note back to him._

_{{_Yes_. I would be _very_ offended.}}_

_[[Why so hostile? I'm complimenting you.]]_

_{{When it's coming from you, no matter how nice it is, I don't take it as a compliment. I take it as an insult. If you're going to say something, don't waste time pretending to be nice. Just come out and say it.}}_

_Axel wrote his response. When Nikki was about to open the note to read it, Mr. Lincoln noticed her._

"_Nicole!" Mr. Lincoln bellowed. "Is that a note? You know there is no passing notes in my class!"_

"_B-But-" Nikki stuttered._

"_No buts!" Mr. Lincoln barked, cutting her off. "Why don't you come up here and share your note with the rest of the class."_

_Nikki reluctantly got up and walked to the front of the room. She opened up the note, and when she saw what it said, she looked at Mr. Lincoln, the look in her eyes saying "Do you _really_ want me to read this?" When her answer was a reprimanding glare, she reluctantly read the message._

"'_You have nice boobs.'" She drawled. "'Are they natural, or implants?'"_

_The class burst out laughing. Nikki's cheeks turned red with embarrassment and she returned to her seat._

…

- Present -

…

Dear God, that was mortifying… and if Axel kept this up, it would happen again.

She felt another piece of paper nudge her arm, and she grabbed it, crumpling it up in her hand.

"Knock it off." She hissed, keeping her voice low so Mr. Lincoln wouldn't hear her. "You already humiliated me in front of the entire class. What, once isn't enough for you?"

Axel didn't answer her verbally. Instead, he wrote another note, folding it neatly in half and sliding it over to her side of the table. Despite _really_ not wanting to, she was curious about what his response was. She grabbed the note and opened it.

[[Speaking of humiliation, you never answered that question I asked you three months ago. _Are _your boobs natural, or are they implants?]]

Nikki glared at the redhead, and in retaliation she ripped out a piece of paper and scribbled her response onto it in jagged handwriting. When she was done, she passed it to him.

{{None. Of. Your. Fucking. Business. Now drop it.}}

He didn't drop it. In fact, he pressed the subject even further.

[[I don't know if you've heard, but I have a lot of experience with the female anatomy.]]

{{I'm sure you do… -_-;;}}

[[And in my years of experience, I've learned to tell the two apart. Do you want me to give you a demonstration~?]]

{{Touch me and I'll snap your hands off at the wrists.}}

[[Ooh~, _feisty_~… That's what I like about you~. :heart: :heart: :heart:]]

{{… … … ಠ_ಠ}}

The conversation ended after that, and for a while Nikki was actually able to pay attention to Mr. Lincoln's lecture. It lasted for about fifteen minutes until…

[[Wanna go out sometime?]]

_Ugh_…

He was obviously hell-bent on bugging her. These constant notes were distracting her from the lecture. She would have to borrow Kairi's notebook after class. Nikki knew he wouldn't leave her alone until she responded, so she ripped another piece of paper out of her notebook and scribbled on it.

{{Sure, I'll go out with you.}} Her note said.

[[Really?]]

{{Sure; when I'm _dead_.}}

[[I could arrange that, but I'm not into corpses.]]

"_This guy's got an answer for everything." _Nikki thought exasperatedly.

{{Aw, that's a shame.}} She wrote in her next note. {{There's a nice girl in the cemetery that was asking me about you.}}

[[That's too bad because right now I'm only interested in you~..]] There was a little winking smiley face next to the message.

{{Lucky me…-_-}} Nikki wrote, adding an emote to further express her sarcasm. {{Do us both a favor - especially me - and take your so-called "irresistible charm" and libido and go fuck yourself.}}

[[But fucking myself is no fun~. I'd much rather fuck _you_…:heart:]]

Nikki saw the note and grimaced, her body shivering uncontrollably out of disgust. She swallowed the bile that was rising in her throat and took out a new piece of paper.

{{You are such a-}}

"Passing notes _again_, are we?"

The brunette froze in the middle of writing.

_Fuck_…

She looked back and saw Mr. Lincoln looming over her with a disapproving scowl.

"B-But Mr. Lincoln, it was Axel's fault!" She said, pointing her finger at the redhead. "He started it!"

"Then you _both_ can stay after school and clean the tables. And on top of that, you can wash every square inch of flooring in this school."

"The _floors_?!" Nikki exclaimed. "Are you kidding me?!"

"And the chalkboards."

She opened her mouth, but before she could object any further and dig herself deeper into a hole, Axel grabbed her and covered her mouth with his hand. In response, Nikki grabbed said hand to pry it off of her - which was a futile effort, and slapped him in the face with her other hand. There was a collective "Ooooooh~" from the class in reaction to the slap, but Mr. Lincoln ignored it.

"But Mr. Lincoln, we have a cooking class today." Axel objected.

"That's a shame. You're going to have to miss it. I'm sure the instructor will understand. I expect both of you in this room after school." Mr. Lincoln said in a demanding voice.

The bell rang not even two seconds later, and the students started packing their things to leave.

Nikki managed to break free from Axel's hold on her, and he braced himself when she moved to punch him. She punched him in the gut, but he was so used to it by now that his only response was a slight wince.

"Don't you _ever_ do that again!" Nikki snarled, referring to him covering her mouth.

"I only did it to keep you from getting us more work. In case you haven't noticed, you seem to have a hard time controlling that pretty little mouth of yours." Axel said in a matter-of-fact tone. He added, "By the way, you have very nice skin. What creams do you use?"

"Ugh.." She groaned as she picked up her bag, speed-walking past him and out of the room.

"What?" He said. "It's a legitimate question!"

…

- After School -

…

"_This isn't fair.."_ Nikki mentally whined as Mr. Lincoln and the head of the janitorial staff handed her and Axel brooms, mops, and buckets. _"This is Axel's fault. He should be the one doing this, not me."_

Cleaning the science room tables, all the blackboards, and every square inch of flooring in the school would take longer than a couple hours; much longer. The school could only keep students for detention until four o'clock, but the principal negotiated with both Nikki and Axel's parents to allow them to keep the two of them there until they finished their task (by saying that any work they do after four would count towards extra-curricular activities). The school had three floors, all of them covered in vinyl. No carpeting. Just vinyl. This was going to take a while…

They decided to start with the chalkboards. Using the sponges and a bucket of soapy water, they went from room to room, wiping down each board until they reached the science room, which they were saving for last because they had to wash the tables in there as well.

"This is all your fault." Nikki declared accusingly as she wrung out the sponge and started to wipe down the tables as Axel finished the chalkboard. "If you hadn't passed all those notes, I would be sitting at home eating ice cream and watching _My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic_ by now.."

Axel gave her a look. A tough girl like her watches a show about ponies? No way. "_You_ watch _My Little Pony_?"

"I like ponies… and magic… and friendship." She saw the look he was giving her. "Don't judge me." She snapped.

"Don't worry sweetheart, I'm not judging you." Axel said, ignoring her glare when he called her 'sweetheart.' "I just never pegged you as the _My Little Pony_ type. I figured you were into, like, _Power Rangers_, or something."

"I hate _Power Rangers_." Nikki growled. She dipped the sponge in the bucket and wrung it out again, moving to another table, starting on one side as Axel joined her and worked on the other side.

"Everything about that show was exaggerated and fake. My sister and I grew up on _Transformers_. My dad has every tape and DVD known to man, and he even collected the toys. We would sit for hours playing with the toys, and my sister and I always took forever trying to transform the robots while Dad would be done in two minutes."

Nikki paused as she suddenly remembered who she was talking to, and dropped the conversation before she could ramble on and on and tell him things about herself that she never wanted him to know.

She just _had_ to start it by opening her mouth about _My Little Pony_.

Axel was right; she really _couldn't_ control her mouth.

"So what kind of ice cream do you like?" Axel asked.

"Whatever flavor you _don't_ like." Nikki growled.

The redhead thought about it for a minute, then said with a slight grimace, "Pistachio."

"Then it's pistachio."

"I'm gonna take a shot in the dark and say you like chocolate." Axel said, smirking when Nikki's body stiffened and she froze in the middle of wiping the table. "And judging by your reaction, it looks like I guessed right."

She glared at him. "_Fuck you_." She seethed.

"When, where, and how hard?" He asked cheekily.

"I'm not answering that."

"Don't be shy, babe. You can tell me what you like. I won't judge you. In fact, I'm quite open to new experiences; _especially_ of the sexual variety.."

"_Ugh_.."

Things were silent for a few minutes as they finished washing the last table. Once they were done, they took the brooms and mops and started cleaning the floor. Nikki would sweep the floors, and Axel would follow behind her with the mop. They started from one end of the hallway and worked their way down to the other end so they wouldn't leave footprints on the clean floor. To avoid dirtying the freshly cleaned floors, they started sweeping and mopping on the third floor so they could check in with the janitor and leave.

When Nikki finished sweeping the floor, Axel moved in with the mop. He caught up with Nikki very quickly, and stood behind her, waiting as she brushed the dirt into a dust pan. Both of them were still in their uniforms; him in slacks, and her in a skirt. Nikki was on her knees, and bent forward slightly to pick up dirt that was a little farther away. Seeing her in such a vulnerable position in front of him made Axel's lips curl into a naughty smirk as he had an equally naughty idea. While she was busy, he picked up the mop and positioned the tip of the handle so it was underneath the hem of her skirt. He slowly lifted her skirt up and was about to make a comment about her panties, but was surprised when he saw that she was wearing a pair of short leggings under her skirt.

"What are you doing back there?" Nikki asked warily.

"Nothing." Axel lied. He jerked the mop back, letting her skirt fall back to its original position.

"You were checking out my ass again, weren't you?" She accused.

So, she thought he was staring at her ass again. It wasn't exactly his intention - he wanted to see her panties - but if that's what she believed then he could play along. "Aw, you caught me." He 'admitted.' "But can you blame me? You have such a nice, firm, sexy ass~."

Nikki turned around and narrowed her eyes at him. "Don't make me sit on you." She threatened him.

"If you like, you can sit on my lap~.." Axel purred.

Nikki's expression went flat; with a hint of disgust mixed in. "No thanks."

"But it's nice and warm~." He prodded. "Come on… You know you want to~…"

"No I don't!" Nikki yelled, getting up on her feet, carrying the dust pan in one hand. "Out of my way. I have to throw this dirt out."

The trash can was behind Axel, and the floor was still wet from when he mopped it.

"Nikki, hold on! The floor's still wet!" He tried to remind her that the floor was just mopped, but she didn't listen. She just ignored him and pushed passed him, making her way to the trash can.

She was taking such harsh steps that as soon as her foot made contact with the wet floor, her foot suddenly slid backward and she found herself falling forward. The dust pan fell out of her hand, and the dirt was scattered across the floor, leaving a dirty cloud behind as it fell, and the pan clattered on the vinyl. Nikki closed her eyes as she waited for the face-on-floor collision. However, instead of hitting the cold floor, she heard a 'thud' as she landed on something warm. Hearing a groan of pain, she looked up to see that she had landed on Axel. The redhead had thrown himself under her to keep her from hitting the floor.

"You used your own body as a safety cushion so I wouldn't hit the floor. My. How chivalrous of you." Nikki muttered sarcastically.

"A true gentleman would throw himself in front of a bus to save a lady." Axel said.

"You're a lot of things Axel, and a 'gentleman' is _definitely_ not one of them." The brunette deadpanned; rather cruelly, at that.

Axel shrunk back a little. "Aw, that hurt." He said in mock-hurt.

"Not as much as your back." Nikki retorted.

"I can take a little back pain if it means I can have you on top of me~."

"Speaking of which, I would like to get up now."

"What's stopping you?"

"You."

It's true, Nikki _wanted_ to get up, but she couldn't. Why? Because Axel's arms had wound themselves around her torso, his hands folded together neatly on the small of her back, preventing her from getting up. Every time she would try, he would push her back down.

"Let me go, Axel." She growled.

"But I like this position~." He objected, pressing her body further against his. "I think we should stay like this _all night_~.."

"We still have another two floors to do." She reminded him of the work they still had to do. "Not to mention you made me spill all that dirt."

"Oh-ho, so that's _my_ fault now? Need I remind you that I warned you about the wet floor, but _you_ didn't listen. So it's _your_ fault, not mine." Axel smirked triumphantly when Nikki sputtered, unable to come up with a comeback. "Besides, the work can wait. Let's stay here and cuddle~."

_BAM_!

Nikki headbutted Axel as hard as she could, making him reel back in pain as he released her to rub his sore forehead. She took the opportunity to jump off of him, and grabbed the mop.

"Damn!" The redhead exclaimed. "And people say _I_ have a hard head…"

"I told you to let go," Nikki said. "but _you_ didn't listen."

He pouted. "You're mean."

Axel let out an 'oof!' as Nikki jammed the tip of the mop's handle into his chest.

"Deal with it." She snapped.

"Is it bad that I can picture you as a Dominatrix? Not that I have a problem with it. Actually, it'd be pretty sexy."

"Ugh.. Shut the hell up.."

"Yes, Mistress~.."

Nikki growled and jammed the handle into his chest again, then decided to mop the rest of the floor herself.

…

8:30 PM.

Finally, after several hours, Nikki and Axel finished cleaning the floors. They put away the mops, brooms, and buckets - after cleaning them out, and locked them away in the janitor's closet. Then they checked in with the head of the janitorial staff, who, after checking their work, gave them the go ahead to leave.

Their parents were waiting for them when they got out, their cars parked outside the front of the school. The two high schoolers were exhausted, and plopped down in the back seats of their respective cars, staying in a face-down position as they were being driven home.

"I can't believe you let them keep me past four.." Nikki groaned into the seat as her Dad drove off.

"You broke the rules Nicole, and when you break the rules you have to face the consequences." Her father said sternly.

Nikki groaned again. "Can I at least have some ice cream when I get home; as a reward for all that hard work I did?"

"Of course you can." He said. "_After_ you eat dinner. We saved some meatloaf for you."

"Yay~…" Nikki drawled exhaustedly, putting her arm up to wave it only to let it plop back down on the seat.

…

9:15 PM.

Axel was exhausted; and achy from when Nikki punched, slapped, and jammed a mop into his chest. He didn't even bother changing into his pajamas. He had another uniform that he could wear. It wasn't like the one he was wearing was the only one. The redhead plopped down onto his bed face-down, and was about to fall asleep when his phone rang.

It was his brother.

He flipped the phone open and answered groggily, "Hello?"

"Hey, little bro!" A voice that was almost identical to his answered. "How's it going, yo?"

"Hey Reno." He greeted sleepily. "What are you doing calling so late? Are you drunk again?"

"No, I'm not drunk!" Reno denied, sounding almost insulted. Well, he wasn't slurring his speech and calling Axel 'Tifa,' so he must be sober. "I drive helicopters for a living. I can't drink unless it's my day off; which is Friday. And it's not even that late! I just wanted to see how my only little brother was doing. Hey, how's everything going with that girl you told me about? You know, the cute brunette; with the baby blue eyes, nice ass, and beats you up all the time? Are you going out yet?"

"She's a tough nut to crack, bro." Axel said. "I haven't even gotten my foot in the door yet. She's familiar with guys like us, so she never lets her guard down around me. She slips up every now and then, but she catches herself before she can say too much."

"All this work for one girl?" Reno asked with disbelief. "You _never_ had to work that hard, especially not for that blonde that you dumped a few months ago. And how long have you been at this? Since September? And it's what, _December_ now? Seems like a long time to be chasing a girl around just so you can date her and have sex with her for three weeks."

"You do the same thing with that Tifa chick you're always chasing around. _How_ many times has she rejected you?"

"I lost count. But I'll get her eventually~." Reno declared cockily. "Besides, it's different with Tifa. And I'm sure it's different with that Nikki girl, right?"

"Well, it's 'different' in the sense that she's more of a challenge than all of my exes put together." Axel said. "Does that count?"

"Look bro, if you have to try for months to get a girl, you'd better hang on to her once you get her. A girl like that is definitely a keeper, yo. And I _definitely_ plan on keeping Tifa." He said with no ounce of doubt in his voice whatsoever.

"You're really hung up on Tifa, aren't you?" Axel asked with a raised eyebrow.

He could picture the goofy grin on Reno's face. "Yup. Just like you're really hung up on Nikki."

"It doesn't mean anything." Axel said confidently. "Aside from being a challenge, Nikki's no different from any of the other girls I've dated. I'll break that defiant, stubborn spirit of hers, then I'll take everything I can from her, then I'll dump her in the gutter just like I did with all the others. I'm not a sentimental love-sick idiot like you. I'm out for _me_, and nobody else! Just me! And I'll step on whoever I need to to get what I want!"

"Oh, bro.." Reno sighed. "I went down your road once. It did nothing for me. It just made me _a_ _lot _of enemies; mostly vindictive ex-girlfriends… and some of their boyfriends. That's why I'm not fooling around anymore. I got a job, only drink once a week, and I got my sights set on one girl, and one girl alone. Girls like Nikki and Tifa only come around once in a lifetime. Don't blow it, dude. Catch you later."

With that, the conversation ended, and both brothers hung up the phone at the exact same time.

Axel flipped his phone shut as he thought about what his brother had told him.

Even though they sounded alike, and kind of looked alike, they were opposites personality-wise. Reno was the goofy one, but there were times he was smooth and went with the flow of things. He may have been a little self-centered, but he has put his life on the line for somebody else more than once. In fact, he would throw himself in front of a bus to save his best friend Rude; hell, he would jump in front of a bus to save Tifa.

Axel was the opposite. Axel was cool, calculating, and ruthless, and put himself before anyone else. He could be someone's best friend one minute, then stab them in the back the next. The only person he cared about, besides himself, was Roxas. He didn't know what it was about the little runt, but he felt compelled to take the kid under his wing and be his friend on his first day of school back in Radiant Garden. He cared about his older brother too to some degree, even idolized him when he was younger, and as he got older he even picked up on his less than ideal habits.

Besides Roxas, he never got attached to anyone.

Why should Nikki be any different?

…

…


	12. Secret Santa

**Banshee: Hi everyone. Here's the final filler chapter. Yes, I know it's short, but it's just a filler. It can be as long or as short as I want, so nyeh~! XP**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

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><p>Chapter Twelve: Secret Santa<p>

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><p>December 12th.<p>

Wednesday.

It was History class. Just a few more minutes, and the bell would ring and class would be over. In the meantime, students were staring at the clock, tapping their pencils on their desks impatiently, and some students had a severe case of nervous knee as their legs shook uncontrollably. The clock seemed to be ticking too slow. Of course, that's what happens when you stare at the clock. It's like watching water boil or paint dry; it goes by faster when you're _not_ watching it. A few minutes before the bell, Mr. Jameson had an announcement to make.

"All right, class. I have a very special announcement. Listen up, please."

The class fell silent.

"Since Christmas is coming up, I've decided on a nice little activity for our class. It's called 'Secret Santa.'" Mr. Jameson declared excitedly as he took a hat out of one of the drawers in his desk. "Now. I have a hat here that is filled with little pieces of paper that includes the name of every student in this class. Each of you will pick a name from the hat, and you will be that person's Secret Santa. Now this activity is called 'Secret Santa' for a reason. You must not tell anyone whose name you've drawn from the hat. When buying a gift, keep in mind that there is a twenty dollar limit, and the deadline is tomorrow. Let's get started."

Taking the hat, Mr. Jameson walked around the room. He stopped at each student's desk, holding the hat out to them so they could pick out a name. He made sure to hold the hat high enough so that they couldn't peer inside, ensuring that each name was chosen at random. When he reaches Nikki's seat, she reaches into the hat and picks up one of the little pieces of paper. Mr. Jameson moves on to the next student, she cradles the little piece of paper in her hands so no one could see it, and reads the name written on it.

"_Yes!"_ She thought happily as she saw one of her friend's names.

When Mr. Jameson completed his walk around the room, the bell suddenly rang. Everyone packed up their things and left the room.

…

- The Next Day -

…

Thursday.

History class again.

When each student entered the room, they gave their wrapped presents to Mr. Jameson, who set them aside so they could be collected at the end of class. That way, no one would know what present was from who; unless some blabbermouths couldn't keep their mouths shut about who they were buying for, or put their name on the 'To and From' tags on the gifts.

A few minutes before class ended, the students could pick up their gifts. He used his roster and called the students to his desk in alphabetical order. Soon Nikki was called and she received her gift, which was in a bag with a computer-typed note tacked to it. Whatever was inside felt soft and plushy.

Ignoring the note at the moment, she opened the bag and reached inside. Out of the bag came a stuffed blue bunny with short, yet soft, fur. It was dressed in a BFF shirt, with a blue collar and sleeves, silver cuff jean shorts, and a pair of khaki flayed flip flops.

"Aw, look at it~!" Sandy cooed as she appeared at Nikki's side. "It's so cute~!"

"So soft, too…" Nikki nodded agreeably, stroking the bunny's soft fur.

"Who's it from?"

"I don't know."

"Check the note." Sandy said, pointing to the note. "Maybe the person wrote their name on it."

Nikki looked at the note, but all it said was:

_To: Nikki_

_Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays_

_From: Your Secret Santa_

"So much for that." Nikki grumbled.

"Maybe it's a secret admirer~." The redhead teased her.

"Pfft. Yeah right." Nikki scoffed at the thought. She looked at the rabbit. "Normally I don't keep the gifts I get from these 'Secret Santa' things - mostly because people tend to buy me shitty gifts - but I think I'll keep this one."

"Can I hold it?" Sandy asked.

"No way."

The green-eyed redhead pouted, but they both laughed as they gathered their things and left the room.

Unbeknownst to them, Axel watched them and discreetly listened in on their conversation with a sly smirk on his face. He really wanted to tell her it was him, but he knew she wouldn't have kept her gift if she knew that he was the one that bought it for her. So he remained silent, content with the fact that he would be - indirectly, through the rabbit - closer to her heart.

…

…


	13. Romeo & Juliet Part 1

**Banshee: Hello everybody~! It's time for that six-part chapter I've been telling you about~... I finished Part One earlier than expected, so I thought I'd post it now. Hope you like it.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

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><p>Chapter Thirteen: Romeo &amp; Juliet<p>

Part 1

The Audition

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><p>Recap:<p>

"_You guys aren't going to believe this. Monique and the new guy - 'Axel,' I think his name is - aren't together anymore."_

_Nikki rolled her eyes. "What, did she get tired of her new boy toy already?"_

"_No, _he_ left _her_."_

_The brunette raised an eyebrow. "You serious?" She asked._

_Maggie held up her hand. "As the plague, girl."_

"_Good." Said Harriet. "That stuck-up bitch needed to be knocked down a few pegs."_

"_You said it, Harry." Sandy agreed._

_Nikki scoffed. "I know what type of guy he is. He's probably out chasing some other piece of ass as we speak."_

"_What do you mean you know what 'type of guy' he is?" Cassandra asked._

"_He's a player." She said. "All they do is flirt with and date multiple girls, sometimes several at once, get whatever they want from them, and then dump them to go after someone else. Trust me, I'm seen enough of them to know how they operate."_

"… _And what does that mean?"_

"_It means that Nikki's had a lot of guys try to 'play' her." Maggie explained for Nikki. "It's happened to her so many times, she can spot a player like _that_."_

_For a little extra emphasis, she snapped her fingers when she said 'that.'_

_Sandy suddenly nudged Nikki. "Speak of the devil. Hey, Nikki. He's watching you."_

_Nikki really didn't want to look, but she decided to bite. She turned around and saw him staring at her from a few tables away. He was sitting with the other transfer students; except Ven, who was sitting with their group. He was smirking, and then the bastard had the audacity to wink at her. Nikki responded with a scowl and gave him the finger, mouthing the words 'fuck you' before turning back towards her table._

"_Ooh, this one's _feisty_~…" Axel remarked, with his eyes still glued to the fiery little brunette that just flipped him off._

"_Are you sure about this, Axel?" Roxas asked. "Ven told me about her. She's nice to younger boys, but she _hates_ everybody else; she _especially_ hates guys like _you_."_

"_Ah, don't worry about it, Rox." The redhead assured. "No girl is immune to my charms. I'll have her down on her knees and kissing my feet soon enough."_

_Roxas sighed. _"This won't end well…" _He thought._

…

…

It was Monday. Christmas vacation was over, and the students came back to school, their brains still stuck on the 'vacation' switch.

Nikki hated having to go back to school. All she wanted to do was stay home and play her new video games all day. She wanted to just get through the school day so she could go home and continue where she left off in _Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess_. She was stuck on the battle with Ganon, and died twelve times so far, and it would drive her crazy until she could find a way to kick his ass.

So far, the day as breezing by without a hitch. The lunch bell finally rang, meaning she only had a few more hours left.

As she made her way to the cafeteria, she ran into Maggie, who seemed to be looking for her. She was holding some fort of flier.

"Hey Nikki." Maggie greeted. She waved the flier back and forth. "Look what I found."

"What is it, Maggie?" Nikki asked.

"Listen to this. 'Auditions for the annual winter play are being held after school, in the auditorium at 3pm.' Ooh~! Maybe we should audition for the play."

Nikki scoffed. "Pfft. Yeah right. You can audition by yourself."

Nikki turned to walk away, but Maggie grabbed her by her shoulder.

"Hey." She growled. "Either you come down to the auditorium willingly, or I'll drag you down there by your hair; either way, you're going."

"You're not going to let up, are you?" Nikki asked, sighing.

Maggie shook her head. "Nope."

"But I don't want to."

"Well I guess that's too bad, 'cuz I already signed you up."

Nikki sighed again, putting her hand on her forehead. "I'm starting to question the point of these conversations.. What about the others?"

"They're going too."

"Did you threaten them too?"

"It's the only way I can get you guys to do anything school-related."

The brunette sighed. "All right, fine." She - reluctantly - agreed. "If it means that much to you, I guess it wouldn't hurt to audition for the play."

"Eeeee~!" Maggie squealed excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun~! I have a feeling that this is going to be life changing!"

Nikki rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh.."

As the pair headed off to lunch, they were oblivious to the fact that Roxas had overheard the entire conversation. It's not like he was eavesdropping, or anything. He was just minding his own business using the bathroom, and as he was leaving he heard the two girls talking about a play as they passed by the door. Not wanting them to see him, and think he was sent to spy on them, he stayed in the bathroom until he couldn't hear their voices anymore. Once they were gone, he left the bathroom and went to join his friends for lunch.

Speaking of friends, Demyx as running a little late. By the time he got to the table, he had an excited grin on his face.

"Hey guys." Demyx said as he sat down at the table. "The school's having auditions for their annual winter play this afternoon. Maybe we should go."

"I don't think so." Zexion said.

"Why not?"

"I just… I.." He stammered, then paused for a few seconds before saying in a hushed voice, "They're just not my thing.."

With that, he buried his face in his book so they wouldn't see his embarrassed blush. Obviously he had stage fright, but the others decided to leave it alone.

Axel 'hmphed' and leaned back in his chair. "Plays are stupid."

"Nikki's auditioning." Roxas said without thinking, and he immediately wished he hadn't said that when the redhead's expression changed.

"_Really_~…?" He asked, smirking. "In that case… boys, we're going to that audition!"

"Yay~!" Demyx chirped.

"Great…" Roxas mumbled.

Zexion just groaned and buried his face further into the book.

…

- 3:00 PM -

…

Even though she _really_ didn't want to, Nikki joined her friends in the auditorium. She went to the chairs they were sitting in, and sat down next to them, and failed to notice Axel and his friends walk in. He smirked when he saw her, and quietly sat down nearby so she wouldn't know he was there; if she knew, she would just walk out.

The director of the play was the theater teacher, Antoine Fisher; or 'Mr. Fisher.'

Mr. Fisher is a tall, lanky man with dark skin and a shaved head. He always wears a dress shirt, a tie, and slacks, and he always has his director's beret and his rectangle-framed glasses.

"Good afternoon, everyone." He said. "Thank you for coming. As you all know, the annual winter play is coming up. This year's play is '_Romeo & Juliet_.'"

There was a collective groan from the majority of students in the room, and excited gasps from the rest.

"_Perfect."_ Axel thought, smirking deviously. _Romeo & Juliet_ is a romantic tragedy; a tragedy, but romantic nonetheless.

"The play has five acts, and each act will be performed on a different day to ease the pressure of learning the lines, since Shakespearian English is hard enough to _read_, let alone speak. Now then. On to business." He took a bunch of scripts off the nearby table and handed the stack to a student, telling the students to take one and pass it around. "When I call you on stage, I will give you a section to read. I don't want to hear any robot speech, or sarcastic remarks. I want to be wowed. I want it to feel like you're really standing there, in costume, performing in front of a live audience. Speak your lines with passion, and enthusiasm! Now… on to the auditions. Let's get the lead roles out of the way, shall we? Here's what we'll do. Any boys who want to audition for the part of Romeo, and girls for Juliet, come sit in the front row."

Mr. Fisher pointed to the row of chairs in the front. He sighed when no one moved.

"Come on people, we can't have _Romeo & Juliet _without Romeo and Juliet!"

A familiar head of curly blonde hair popped up among the students, and Nikki knew immediately who it was as the girl sat down in the front row; her nemesis, Monique.

"Anyone else?"

Ven, who was sitting next to Nikki, nudged her. "Go on, Nikki. What have you got to lose?"

"Ugh.." Nikki groaned. "Fine - but only because I can't stand the thought of being shown up by _her_."

He patted her on the back. "That's the spirit~!" He cheered.

Nikki got up from her seat and reluctantly sat down in the front row, making sure to sit as far away from the blonde as possible. None of the other girls in the group came forward because they were all too afraid of Monique and Nikki.

"You're auditioning for the play? Oh, how cute~." Monique patronized, putting her hand up to her lips as she giggled cruelly. "You're wasting your time, though. A nobody like you isn't fit to play the lead role."

Nikki growled and looked away, not even bothering to dignify her with a response.

"Anyone else?" Mr. Fisher asked. "… No? All right. Come on now, we need a Romeo. Anyone? Come on, don't be shy."

Axel had his eye on Nikki the whole time, watching to see if she would go for it. Now that he was sure that she was auditioning for the role of Juliet, he smirked, stood up, and walked towards the front row. At first, Nikki didn't notice him. She didn't notice until she heard a chair on the other side of the row squeak. As soon as Nikki saw him in that chair, with that arrogant gleam in his eyes and his smug smirk, she suddenly looked like she got hit in the face with a bucket of bleach.

"_W-Wha-?! When did _he_ get here?!"_ Nikki mentally screamed._ "Oh God, no… No, no, no, no, __**oh**__**God**__, no!"_

Never before had Nikki wanted to run away so badly. She wanted to bolt out of the room, run out of the building, and run to the safety of her bedroom at a speed that would make The Flash look like a snail by comparison. But as much as she wanted to run, her pride wouldn't let her. She _hated_ the thought of even pretending to be romantically involved with _him_, but if she chickened out she'd have Monique going "Na-na-na-na-na~!" in her face for the rest of the month, and she would also have Maggie drag her back against her will to make sure she was involved in the play in _some_ way. So she stayed in her seat, pursing her lips as she crossed her legs to keep herself from running away, and rubbed her hands together in an effort to keep herself from strangling the redhead and blonde 'till they were blue in the face.

"All right," Antoine sighed. "I can see that this is the most I'm going to get out of you kids.. Let's start the audition. Axel and Monique, you're first. I want you to start at the balcony scene, starting at the line: 'Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear…' and continue reading until I tell you to stop. Begin."

They turned the pages on their scripts until they reached the balcony scene, and Axel spoke first, since the line Mr. Fisher gave them to start with was Romeo's. As they recited the lines, Sandy snuck out of her seat and moved so she was sitting behind Nikki.

"Good Lord, her acting is atrocious." She grimaced, referring to Monique. "You're a shoo-in for Juliet."

"No shit. I'm the only other girl auditioning for the part." Nikki deadpanned.

"Like I said; a shoo-in."

"That conniving bastard.." The brunette growled. "He must have overheard my conversation with Maggie; or maybe he had one of his friends eavesdrop on us. If I'd have known he was going to be here, I never would have shown up."

Sandy shrugged. "No matter what you do, it's a lose-lose situation. You could either do the play and have to pretend to be romantically involved with the guy you hate - and also have to kiss him more than once - or you can totally bail and have Maggie beat down your door and drag you back by your hair. Either way, you're screwed."

Nikki groaned and leaned back in her seat, letting her head drop. "Someone please shoot me…"

She looked back up when Monique had finished her line and Axel started reading his. It was no wonder he was able to go out with girl after girl after girl. He was a good actor. He knew just what to say, how to say it and when, and it was so convincing that even the most strong-willed girl would fall for him and believe he was sincere. They would fall for him and be completely blind to his true intentions. But Nikki was no fool. She had met him a million times before. He wasn't fooling her; not by a long shot.

"_It's no surprise that Axel is a good actor."_ She thought._ "He has to be to lure in all the girls he fucks around with. Well we'll see who the better actor is. I'll act circles around that dirty, flea-bitten dog."_

After sitting there listening to Monique act for more than a minute, Mr. Fisher finally said, "That's enough. Nicole, you're next."

Nikki groaned and reluctantly stood up, taking her script with her. She got up on stage, and Mr. Fisher said, "Begin."

Axel and Nikki locked eyes for a few seconds, and he could see the fire and desire to show him up in her eyes. He bit back a smirk; she was terrible at hiding her emotions.

He started reading. "_Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops-_"

"_O, swear not by the moon,_" Nikki cut him off."_the inconstant moon, that monthly changes in her circled orb, lest that thy love prove likewise variable._"

"_What shall I swear by?_" He asked.

"_Do not swear at all; or, if thou wilt, swear by thy gracious self, which is the god of my idolatry, and I'll believe thee._"

"_If my heart's dear love-_"

"_Well, do not swear: although I joy in thee, I have no joy of this contract to-night: it is too rash, too unadvised, too sudden; too like the lightning, which doth cease to be ere one can say 'It lightens.'_" As she spoke, she moved about the stage, gesturing with her hands, and elevating her voice in certain parts. "_Sweet, good night! This bud of love, by summer's ripening breath,may prove a beauteous flower when next we meet. Good night, good night! As sweet repose and rest come to thy heart as that within my breast!_"

"_O, wilt thou leave me so unsatisfied?_" Axel asked, taking a step towards her.

"_What satisfaction canst thou have to-night?_" She answered his question with a question.

He grasped her hand. "_The exchange of thy love's faithful vow for mine._" He said, leaning forward to kiss her hand.

Nikki had to swallow before she could speak the next line because she vomited in her mouth a little bit from him touching her that way.

"_I gave thee mine before thou didst request it: and yet I would it were to give again._"

"_Wouldst thou withdraw it? For what purpose, love?_"

"_But to be frank, and give it thee again. And yet I wish but for the thing I have: My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee,the more I have, for both are infinite._"

"A~and, stop right there." Mr. Fisher ordered. He clapped his hands together, satisfied with how things turned out. In his opinion, theirs were the best acting he had seen yet, and he knew he had his Romeo & Juliet. "Excellent. Now for the rest of the roles."

The auditions went on, with the other students read the parts they are given. While they acted, just as he did with the lead roles, Mr. Fisher wrote some notes down on a pad of paper; his observations of the student's performances. When everyone had gone, Mr. Fisher put his clipboard down and stood up to make an announcement.

"All right, auditions are over." He said. "I will go over your evaluations, and I will make my decisions based on your performance. The list of parts will be posted on the bulletin board tomorrow morning. Rehearsal for Act I starts tomorrow after school at three. See you at rehearsal."

…

- The Next Day -

…

Tuesday.

Just as Mr. Fisher had promised, the list was posted on the bulletin board that morning. The students that were at the auditions crowded around the bulletin board as they read the list. Some groaned, some were excited, and others just didn't care. The list was as follows:

…

…

_**Capulets**_

_Capulet - [_]_

_Lady Capulet - [_]_

_Juliet - Nikki_

_Tybalt - Riku_

_Nurse - Kairi_

_Peter - [_]_

_Sampson - [_]_

_Gregory - [_]_

…

_**Montagues**_

_Montague - [_]_

_Lady Montague - [_]_

_Romeo - Axel_

_Benvolio - Roxas_

_Abram - [_]_

_Balthazar - [_]_

…

_**Other**_

_Paris - [_]_

_Mercutio - Sora_

_Friar Laurence - Zexion_

_An Apocethary - [_]_

_Prince Escalus - [_]_

_A Chorus - [_]_

_Friar John - [_]_

…

…

As the group surrounding the board dispersed, Nikki and her friends checked the list, and Nikki was completely horrified when she saw her name.

"Oh God, please kill me now.." She groaned, balling her hands into fists and lightly banging them against her forehead. "I can't believe this… I can't believe _I'm_ Juliet.."

"What do you expect? You're the only girl - that tried out for the role - who had decent acting skills." Sandy said in a matter-of-fact tone. "Who do you think Mr. Fisher was going to pick; the girl that sucked, or the girl that could act?"

"Well, at least I beat Monique for the part. That's one upside to this - no, wait, scratch that. It's the _only_ upside. The rest sucks."

"It isn't going to be that bad. We'll be there with you." Sandy assured her.

"You'll be there?" She asked. "You mean, in the audience?"

Sandy smiled. "No, silly! On stage!"

"On stage? But you guys didn't even audition."

"That's because we're not in the play. We're some of the people in charge of running it. I'm the stage manager."

"I'm in charge of the costumes~! Holla~!" Maggie giggled like an excited little girl.

"I'm doing the lights." Said Harriet.

"I'm helping Maggie in wardrobe." Cassandra said.

"And I'm the weapons master." Ven said.

Nikki gave them all a flat look. "So let me get this straight. Instead of having me work backstage with you guys, you force me to audition for the play and now I'm stuck with _him_.. And I'll have to kiss him, too!" Her face was beet red as she stomped her foot. "This is a load of _cavallo di merda_! I can't believe you guys would leave me alone on stage with that womanizing man-whore! You're the worst friends ever!"

"It won't be all bad, Nikki." Ven tried to be encouraging. "Kairi, Sora, and Riku will be in the play too."

"But _they_ don't have to kiss him! _I_ do! Grr! That bastard.. He had this all planned, I know it! That no-good sex-crazed, womanizing, perverted, conniving, self-centered fucking twat! I'm gonna fucking kill that _hijoputa pelirrojo_!"

As Nikki screamed and started shouting profanities in Spanish (something she picked up from her half-Hispanic cousin Jasper), Sandy covered Ven's ears. When she started heaving, Maggie patted her on the back, and said, "All right girl, take it easy before you pop a blood vessel."

"What did she say?" Ven asked when Sandy removed her hands from his ears; after Nikki finished her bitching session.

"She pretty much said she's gonna kill him." Sandy said. She added, "And a whole bunch of other words that aren't safe for your innocent young ears."

Ven pouted. "I'm not _that_ young!" He exclaimed dejectedly.

Nikki was seething with rage, and her friends knew they had to calm her down before she had an aneurism. They led her to the gym, where, hopefully, she could blow off some steam playing dodge ball.

A few minutes after they left, Axel and his friends arrived and checked the list.

Roxas scanned the names. "Looks like we all got parts. Except… Hey, Demyx. You're not on the list."

"I didn't really want to be in the play." Demyx said. "That theatre stuff was never my thing. If this was a musical performance, I'd be all over it. I asked Mr. Fisher if there was something I could do, and he said that the sound manager position was open, so I took it."

"Are you sure you're qualified for that?" Zexion asked.

"Psh. Of course I'm qualified." Demyx said in a 'well _duh_!' tone. "I'm not stupid. All I have to do is press the buttons when the stage manager tells me to. No biggie."

Zexion sighed. "Leave it to you to pick an easy job.."

"Excellent." Axel smirked triumphantly when he saw his name, along with Nikki's, on the play list. "Everything is going according to plan."

"You have a plan?"

"I always have a plan, Roxas. Whenever I get a stubborn girl like Nikki, I always find a way to manipulate them so they'll do what I want. When all else fails, my famous kisses always win them over. I knew Nikki would never kiss me voluntarily, so I devised a plan that would make it so she doesn't have a choice. I call it… Operation: 'Kiss the Girl.'"

Zexion face palmed. "Oh Lord…"

"This play was the perfect opportunity. Romeo and Juliet share their first kiss in Act I. Just one kiss from these lips, and she'll be addicted to me like ants to sugar. By the end of the play, she'll be begging for a spot in my bed."

"Whatever you say, Axel…" Roxas sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head.

…

…

**Cavallo di merda:** horse-shit

**hijoputa pelirrojo: **redheaded motherfucker


	14. Romeo & Juliet Part 2

**Banshee: Hello everyone! I know it's been a LONG time since I updated, but there's been a lot going on right now. But here is Chapter 14~! I hope you enjoy it. Also, a little side note: The characters in the play will be referred by their regular names in the narration, but will be addressed by their character names in the play (or the text in italics). Any behavior they exhibit, and the descriptions of their emotions and actions, is purely part of their act. Just to clarify.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OCs and the plot.**

* * *

><p>Chapter Fourteen: Romeo &amp; Juliet<p>

Part 2

Act I

* * *

><p>Recap:<p>

"_Listen to this. 'Auditions for the annual winter play are being held after school, in the auditorium at 3pm.' Ooh~! Maybe we should audition for the play."_

_Nikki scoffed. "Pfft. Yeah right. You can audition by yourself."_

_Nikki turned to walk away, but Maggie grabbed her by her shoulder._

"_Hey." She growled. "Either you come down to the auditorium willingly, or I'll drag you down there by your hair; either way, you're going."_

_The brunette sighed. "All right, fine." She - reluctantly - agreed. "If it means that much to you, I guess it wouldn't hurt to audition for the play."_

"_Eeeee~!" Maggie squealed excitedly. "This is going to be so much fun~! I have a feeling that this is going to be life changing!"_

_Nikki rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh.."_

…

"_Excellent." Axel smirked triumphantly when he saw his name, along with Nikki's, on the play list. "Everything is going according to plan."_

"_You have a plan?"_

"_I always have a plan, Roxas. Whenever I get a stubborn girl like Nikki, I always find a way to manipulate them so they'll do what I want. When all else fails, my famous kisses always win them over. I knew Nikki would never kiss me voluntarily, so I devised a plan that would make it so she doesn't have a choice. I call it… Operation: 'Kiss the Girl.'"_

_Zexion face palmed. "Oh Lord…"_

"_This play was the perfect opportunity. Romeo and Juliet share their first kiss in Act I. Just one kiss from these lips, and she'll be addicted to me like ants to sugar. By the end of the play, she'll be begging for a spot in my bed."_

"_Whatever you say, Axel…" Roxas sighed exasperatedly, shaking his head._

…

_"Hey, how's everything going with that girl you told me about? You know, the cute brunette; with the baby blue eyes, nice ass, and beats you up all the time? Are you going out yet?"_

"_She's a tough nut to crack, bro." Axel said. "I haven't even gotten my foot in the door yet."_

"_All this work for one girl?" Reno asked with disbelief. "You _never_ had to work that hard, especially not for that blonde that you dumped a few months ago. And how long have you been at this? Since September? And it's what, _December now?_ Seems like a long time to be chasing a girl around just so you can date her and have sex with her for three weeks."_

"_You do the same thing with that Tifa chick you're always chasing around. _How_ many times has she rejected you?"_

"_I lost count. But I'll get her eventually~." Reno declared cockily. "Besides, it's different with Tifa. And I'm sure it's different with that Nikki girl, right?"_

"_Well, it's 'different' in the sense that she's more of a challenge than all of my exes put together." Axel said. "Does that count?"_

"_Look bro, if you have to try for months to get a girl, you'd better hang on to her once you get her. A girl like that is definitely a keeper, yo. And I _definitely_ plan on keeping Tifa." He said with no ounce of doubt in his voice whatsoever._

"_You're really hung up on Tifa, aren't you?" Axel asked with a raised eyebrow._

_He could picture the goofy grin on Reno's face. "Yup. Just like you're really hung up on Nikki."_

"_It doesn't mean anything." Axel said confidently. "Aside from being a challenge, Nikki's no different from any of the other girls I've dated. I'll break that defiant, stubborn spirit of hers, then I'll take everything I can from her, then I'll dump her in the gutter just like I did with all the others. I'm not a sentimental love-sick idiot like you. I'm out for _me_, and nobody else! Just me! And I'll step on whoever I need to to get what I want!"_

"_Oh, bro.." Reno sighed. "I went down your road once. It did nothing for me. It just made me _a lot _of enemies. That's why I'm not fooling around anymore. I got a job, only drink once a week, and I got my sights set on one girl, and one girl alone. Girls like Nikki and Tifa only come around once in a lifetime. Don't blow it, dude."_

…

"_So much for your plan, Monique." One of the cheerleaders remarked._

"_This isn't working." Said the other cheerleader. "Everything we've tried so far has only made him more interested in her. Maybe we should stop before things get out of hand.."_

_Monique growled. "I'm not going to give up because my plan to exploit her fears has failed. We'll just have to try harder…"_

…

…

_You've stirred emotions I've never experienced before, never. Not until you._

- Unknown

…

…

Tuesday.

Damn it…

Damn it all…

Damn it all to Hell…

The first rehearsal started after school, and Nikki had no choice but to attend; lest she forfeit the role of Juliet to Monique and have the blonde rub it in her face every chance she got from that day forward. She may have been roped into this by her friends, but she'd be damned if she wasn't going to fight this every step of the way, _especially_ since her male counterpart in the play was the man she hated with a passion. There was no way in _hell_ that she was going to kiss him, play or no play. But if she refused to play the part, then the whole production would be ruined and Mr. Fisher would have an emotional breakdown.

Nikki felt like she was trapped between a rock and a hard place.

Perhaps she could pull the tape trick like Akane did to Ranma in _Ranma ½_…

…

…

No.. That would be too obvious.. And the thought of his dirty mouth being that close to her own, even with the tape acting as a barrier, made her sick to her stomach.

"_Why did Maggie have to drag me into this…?"_

Once the final bell rang, she grudgingly made her way to the auditorium, slowing down her strides as much as possible; which was only delaying the inevitable. When she reached said auditorium, she took a deep, shaky breath before walking in. She entered just in time to hear a loud shriek:

"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!"

"Uh-oh…" Nikki said to herself, recognizing the voice immediately.

There was her nemesis, Monique, in the auditorium, screaming so loud that she feared that poor Mr. Fisher's eardrums would be blown out. Obviously, the blonde had seen the play list and was _more_ than dissatisfied with the fact that she wasn't Juliet; and she was even more infuriated that someone she believed was a worthless nobody beat her for the part. Nikki kept her distance and made sure she didn't make her presence known, for if Monique saw her she'd direct her rage at the brunette - which was something she was _not_ in the mood for. She listened to the conversation - it was hard _not_ to - as she maneuvered her way around them, making sure she was out of the blonde's line of vision.

"Monique, we've been over this," Mr. Fisher sighed exasperatedly. "You and Nicole were the only girls that tried out for the part, and I had to go with the best choice, and unfortunately you didn't make the cut."

"I 'didn't make the cut?!' Are you _serious_?!" Monique exclaimed in a heated, shrill voice. She held up her pinkie. "I have more acting ability in my little finger!"

"My evaluations say otherwise. I'm sorry Monique, but I've made up my mind."

The blonde let out a loud, angry shriek before turning away from the teacher and kicking the closest chair as she stormed away.

"This is _BULLSHIT_!" She yelled. "Why does _she_ get to be Juliet?"

"Because her acting is better than yours!" Sandy, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand the nonsense anymore and interjected. "She got the part and you didn't; plain and simple. Now stop throwing a temper tantrum like some spoiled little brat and just get over it!"

"What did you say, you loudmouthed little-"

Monique was about to charge the redhead when Nikki grabbed the enraged blonde by the arm, stopping her.

"Leave her alone, Monique!" Nikki ordered.

"Let go of me, you stupid bitch!" Monique snarled, yanking her arm out of the brunette's grip. "Great! Now I have to go home and wash your filth off me!"

"Yeah…" Nikki muttered dryly as her nemesis brushed past her with a 'humph!' and walked out the door. "You do that…"

"Thanks for that." Sandy said once she was gone. "But, for the record, I could handle that bitch myself."

"I know." Said Nikki. "I just didn't want you guys getting into a fight in front of Mr. Fisher. It probably would have cost you your job as the stage manager."

"You have a point there." The redhead changed the subject. "So, are you ready for your first rehearsal?"

"As I'll ever be…" The blue-eyed girl drawled.

"Terrific~!" Sandy chirped. "I'll go get you your script."

…

He held her close as he clasped her hands tightly in his own, one hand against the other like two hands folded in prayer. Green eyes stared intently into blue, the fire within both their eyes burning with intensity; though for different reasons.

"_O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do,_" He whispered sweetly, lacing their fingers together."_They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair._"

"_Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake._" She said.

"_Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take."_

His face drew closer to hers, and just as their lips were about to connect, she put her hand up and pushed his face back forcefully.

"Oh, for Pete's sake… Come on Nikki, this is the third time we've done this scene!" Sandy complained. "Just kiss him already so we can move on!"

"No way in hell." Nikki growled.

"You're going to have to kiss him eventually, Nikki." The stage manager said, reminding Nikki of the grim reality that she would be faced with on opening night.

"She's right, Nicole." Mr. Fisher agreed. "Romeo and Juliet are lovers. You must play the part, regardless of your personal feelings towards your costar."

"Then I'll save the 'love' for opening night. Until then, this is the best you're going to get out of me." The brunette declared stubbornly.

The theater teacher sighed. "All right, then. As long as you play your part to the fullest on opening night, I suppose I can allow it."

As everyone prepared to continue with the scene, Nikki turned to Axel, who was looking at her with that certain gleam in his eyes and that smirk on his face that he knew she hated.

"Your friend is right, you know." He said, his voice low so only she could hear him. "You'll have to kiss me eventually."

"Yeah, I know." Nikki snarled. "Don't remind me."

…

- One Week Later -

…

Tuesday.

Opening night.

Nikki peered out from behind the curtain and gulped nervously at the sight of the auditorium being filled. It was a full house, much to her displeasure. She spotted her family among the crowd, her father sitting calmly in his seat as her mother held the video camera with a bright smile on her face. Her sister Aubrey sat beside them, and Nana and Grampy were there too. Apparently, word spread out farther into the family, for her aunt Stacie and uncle Jacob were there as well. Also in the small cluster of family members was her cousin Jasper and his - secret - boyfriend Sean. She also spotted the rest of her friends in the audience.

"Are you nervous~…?"

The brunette nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard that familiar, cocky voice in her ear. She whirled around and glared at the redhead, and growled, "I _really_ wish you'd stop doing that."

"Why?" Axel asked. "I _love_ watching your body _shiver_~.."

Her face turned green. "Ugh.."

She noticed Axel wasn't looking her in the eye, his gaze downcast instead. The bastard was staring at her breasts. How could he not stare? She was wearing a dress with a very _revealing_ neckline. They were nice, too.

"Hey." She snapped, snapping her fingers to get his attention. "Hey _pervertido_, my eyes are _up here_."

"_Je vous prie de m'excuser, ma dame_." Axel said cheekily, smirking as he looked her in the eye. "You have such lovely breasts, that I couldn't help but stare."

Nikki narrowed her eyes at him. "_Burro_."

"… Did you just call me a jackass?"

"_Sí_."

"That's mean." Axel pouted.

"You're right." Nikki said. She then said coldly, "Calling you a jackass would be an insult to donkeys everywhere."

The redhead winced. "Ouch."

"Curtain in five minutes." She heard Sandy call out.

As Nikki moved to walk away, she froze when she felt Axel smack her ass.

"Nice dress." He complimented, referring to her costume.

She was wearing a Shakespearean-era lace-up dress with the top being very form-fitting and flared out towards the bottom. It was embroidered with gold thread and lace, slashed bell sleeves, and the neckline was low cut… maybe a little too much. She wore heels, which she also hated. Nikki begged Maggie, the head of the wardrobe department, to revise it so it wasn't so revealing, but her friend declined because it was too short notice for her to fix; she wouldn't be able to get it done before she went on. So now she was stuck with a tight dress that made her feel like she couldn't breathe, and a neckline that showed off practically half of her breasts; her father wasn't going to be happy about that. Her long hair was pulled back and tied in an elegant braid, and she was also wearing a headpiece with a veil.

It wasn't like Axel was faring any better. He looked just as uncomfortable in his clothes as she was in hers. He wore a tunic with a ruffled collar over a white loose undershirt, a Renaissance muffin cap with a white plume, breeches, and the infamous hose; more commonly referred to as tights, with boots. His hair wasn't styled in its usual spikes, because that style didn't exist back in Shakespearean times, but instead it was left un-styled and messy and tied into a ponytail (which made him look almost exactly like his brother).

She glared at him for slapping her ass, but instead of threatening him with bodily harm she instead smirked at him and said "Nice tights."

He hated the tights. They made him look gay. He was so uncomfortable that he couldn't even come up with a retort when Nikki acknowledged them in that mocking tone.

All those times where she one-upped, rejected, and hit him wouldn't go unpunished.

"_I'm going to break her…"_ He thought as he watched her retreating form. _"__**Tonight**__."_

…

The auditorium went silent as a student walked on stage. A spotlight centered on them, and they cleared their throat before they spoke.

"_Two households, both alike in dignity,_

_In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,_

_From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,_

_Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean._

_From forth the fatal loins of these two foes_

_A pair of star-cross'd lovers take their life;_

_Whose misadventured piteous overthrows_

_Do with their death bury their parents' strife._

_The fearful passage of their death-mark'd love,_

_And the continuance of their parents' rage,_

_Which, but their children's end, nought could remove,_

_Is now the two hours' traffic of our stage;_

_The which if you with patient ears attend,_

_What here shall miss, our toil shall strive to mend_."

There was applause when the student finished, and they retreated off stage as the curtain opened, revealing the set, which was a public place in Verona. As the students playing Sampson and Gregory made their way on stage, Nikki was doing some last minute cramming. She had already memorized her lines, but some last minute studying couldn't hurt. Besides, it would be a while before she made her first appearance.

"Are you all right?" Sandy asked. "You seem nervous."

"No, I'm not nervous." Nikki denied, ignoring the fact that the hands holding her script were shaking. "Just a little anxiety."

"Anxiety? About what?"

"What do you think?"

"You're still hung up on that?" Sandy said, knowing what Nikki was talking about. "Is kissing Axel really going to be that bad?"

"I feel like vomiting just _thinking_ about it." Nikki grimaces.

"If you don't do it, then the play will be ruined. A lot of people put a lot of work into this thing, and there are a lot of people that are here to see the results of all that work. Your family is even here. They're really happy about you being part of the play. If anything, do it for them." The redhead encouraged.

Nikki thought about it for a minute. "Well…" She said. "If my family is here, then I guess I can do it. But you owe me a gallon of mouthwash, disinfectant, and a vaccination after this."

Sandy chuckled. "Deal."

Nikki looked over and saw Axel, who was talking to Roxas. The sounds going on backstage and the actual play going on drowned out their voices, which was perfectly fine because she didn't even want to know what they were talking about. So she just minded her own business and continued reading up on her lines.

"I'm really nervous, Axel." Roxas admitted to his redheaded friend. "This is the first time I've ever been in a play. What if I mess up?"

The redhead patted him on the back. "Don't worry, Rox. You'll do fine. You're just performing in front of a live audience watching your every move. It's a full house, too. I think there's about… maybe… three-hundred people out there?"

"Y-You're not helping!" Roxas exclaimed nervously.

Arguing could be heard on stage, followed by the clashing of swords.

Axel turned to Roxas and said, "Hey, they started fighting. That's your cue, 'Benvolio.'"

"Crap!" The younger boy exclaimed as he ran past his friend and rushed on stage.

"Go get 'em, Kiddo!" Axel called after him.

"Yell any louder and they'll be able to hear you in the cheap seats." Nikki, having heard him, chided.

"I could think of a thousand ways to make you yell, but I won't say anything about it because your redheaded friend over there is looking at me like she wants to murder me." He nodded towards Sandy, who was looking at him with daggers in her eyes. "I already pegged you as the ringleader of your little group, and I'm guessing she's the attack dog?"

"Go ahead." Nikki said. "Keep talking. I need an excuse to sick my 'attack dog' on you."

As if on cue, Sandy growled when the brunette said the words 'attack dog.'

"Two pretty girls want to attack me? Ooh~, I'm so scared~…"

…

"Monique, this is crazy." One of the cheerleaders said as she stood with Monique and two other cheerleaders outside the back entrance of the auditorium. "If we do this, we're going to be in big trouble."

"We might even get kicked off the squad!" Said another cheerleader.

"Let's just get out of here." A third cheerleader suggested. "It's not worth it."

"We're not going anywhere!" Monique hissed.

"But Monique-"

"Shut up! It _will_ be worth it when Axel is mine and Nikki is in the gutter where she belongs. Now let's go. We have a play to ruin."

…

So far, the play went off without a hitch. Roxas, as Benvolio, had arrived in time to attempt to stop four men, each from one of the two houses, from fighting, but he had no such luck. It wasn't long before Riku, playing the part of Tybalt, came onto the scene, goading the younger boy into fighting him. Lord and Lady Capulet and Montague didn't do much to stop the fighting, and it took the Prince stepping in and threatening punishment for the group to disperse and go about their own business.

Lord and Lady Montague stayed a little while longer, while everyone else had left, to ask Roxas of the whereabouts of their son. When he said he didn't know, the two left.

"Axel," Sandy growled his name as Lord and Lady Montague walked off stage. "That's your cue."

"Looks like I'm up." He said as he walked past Nikki. "Wish me luck~."

"Break a leg." Nikki drawled, wishing his leg would snap in half like a twig right there.

"Thank you."

"No, really. Break a leg."

The redhead smirked at her and walked on stage, not long after Lord and Lady Montague exited the scene. Nikki watched him as he walked away, quietly chanting "Please God, break his leg.. Please, please, _**please**_, break his leg…"

"Careful, or that might turn around on you." Sandy warned, referring to the brunette's malicious prayer; that she couldn't help but overhear.

"It's worth a shot." Nikki retorted, resuming her chanting.

…

On stage, Roxas looked around for a little while, stopping when he noticed Axel walking over.

"_Good-morrow, cousin_." Roxas greeted, getting the redhead's attention.

"_Is the day so young?_" Axel asked.

"_But new struck nine_." Roxas said, pointing to the clock, which read nine in the morning.

"_Ay me!_" The redhead cursed. "_Sad hours seem long. Was that my father that went hence so fast?_"

The younger boy nodded. "_It was. What sadness lengthens Romeo's hours?_" He asked, with concern in his voice.

"_Not having that, which, having, makes them short_." Axel replied.

"_In love?_"

"_Out-_"

"_Of love?_"

"_Out of her favour, where I am in love_."

"_Alas, that love, so gentle in his view, should be so tyrannous and rough in proof!_" Roxas sympathized.

"_Alas, that love, whose view is muffled still, should, without eyes, see pathways to his will!Where shall we dine?_" Axel paused, and looked at the ground. "_O me!_" He exclaimed when he saw blood. "_What fray was here?_ _Yet tell me not, for I have heard it all. Here's much to do with hate, but more with love. Why, then, O brawling love! O loving hate! O any thing, of nothing first create! O heavy lightness! serious vanity! Mis-shapen chaos of well-seeming forms! Feather of lead, bright smoke, cold fire, sick health! Still-waking sleep, that is not what it is! This love feel I, that feel no love in this. Dost thou not laugh?_"

…

"Can you believe this guy?" Nikki remarked to Sandy as they watched the performance from backstage. "What a fucking ham."

"He's playing the part, Nikki." Sandy said. "Which, I hope, you're going to do during the ball scene."

The brunette gave her a look. "Yeah, yeah.."

"Yes."

"Whatever." Nikki growled.

…

"_Tell me in sadness, who is that you love_." Roxas said.

"_What, shall I groan and tell thee?_"

"Gr_oan! Why, no. But sadly tell me who._" The boy prodded.

"_Bid a sick man in sadness make his will: Ah, word ill urged to one that is so ill!_" Axel sighed."_In sadness, cousin, I do love a woman._"

"_I aim'd so near, when I supposed you loved_."

"_A right good mark-man!_"The redhead agreed. "_And she's fair I love_."

"_A right fair mark, fair coz, is soonest hit_." Roxas said.

"_Well, in that hit you miss_." Axel said, sighing as he leaned against the wall. "_She'll not be hit with Cupid's arrow; she hath Dian's wit; and, in strong proof of chastity well arm'd, from love's weak childish bow she lives unharm'd. She will not stay the siege of loving terms, nor bide the encounter of assailing eyes, nor ope her lap to saint-seducing gold: O, she is rich in beauty, only poor, that when she dies with beauty dies her store_."

…

"Oh brother." Nikki grumbled. "Gag me with a fucking spoon.."

"Shh!" Sandy shushed her.

…

"_Be ruled by me, forget to think of her_." Roxas advised.

"_O, teach me how I should forget to think_."

"_By giving liberty unto thine eyes; Examine other beauties_." The younger boy suggested.

"_'Tis the way to call hers exquisite, in question more: These happy masks that kiss fair ladies' brows being black put us in mind they hide the fair; He that is strucken blind cannot forget the precious treasure of his eyesight lost: Show me a mistress that is passing fair, what doth her beauty serve, but as a note where I may read who pass'd that passing fair? Farewell: thou canst not teach me to forget_."

"_I'll pay that doctrine,_" Roxas promised,"_or else die in debt._"

With that, the two exited the stage and the curtain closed as the audience applauded their performance, and the staff immediately started working to move the sets around for the next scene. After a few minutes of shuffling around, the stage for the next scene was set, and the curtains opened.

Roxas and Axel entered the stage alone, the redhead still putting on the façade of being love-struck and depressed. The younger boy tried in earnest to persuade his friend to forget about Rosaline and move on to someone else, that "one fire burns out another's burning," and "one pain is lessen'd by another's anguish." But the taller male would not listen, still depressed, claiming that the plantain leaf is excellent for cutting one's shin.

"_Why, Romeo, at thou mad?_" Roxas exclaimed, shocked by what he had said.

"_Not mad,_" Was Axel's reply."_but bound more than a mad-man is; shut up in prison, kept without my food, whipp'd and tormented and_-"

He stopped when he saw a man, Peter, enter the stage, and greeted him, a greeting which the other returned. Peter was carrying papers with him, and, after telling him that he could read, Axel read the list of names on the paper - which turned out to be a letter.

"_A fair assembly._" Axel remarked when he was done reading off the names."_Whither should they come?_"

"_Up_." Said Peter.

"_Whither? To supper?_" Axel asked.

"_To our house_."

"_Whose house?_"

"_My master's_."

"_Indeed, I should have ask'd you that before_."

"_Now I'll tell you without asking._" Said Peter."_My master is the great rich Capulet; and if you be not of the house of Montagues, I pray, come and crush a cup of wine. Rest you merry!_"

With that, Peter left, and Roxas took the letter from Axel, reading the names for himself.

"_At this same ancient feast of Capulet's sups the fair Rosaline whom thou so lovest, with all the admired beauties of Verona._" He said."_Go thither; and, with unattainted eye, compare her face with some that I shall show, and I will make thee think thy swan a crow_."

At the suggestion, Axel scoffed. "_When the devout religion of mine eye maintains such falsehood, then turn tears to fires; and these, who often drown'd could never die, transparent heretics, be burnt for liars!_" He exclaimed dramatically."_One fairer than my love! the all-seeing sun ne'er saw her match since first the world begun_."

Roxas rolled his eyes. "_Tut, you saw her fair, none else being by, herself poised with herself in either eye: but in that crystal scales let there be weigh'd your lady's love against some other maid that I will show you shining at this feast, and she shall scant show well that now shows best_."

"_I'll go along, no such sight to be shown, but to rejoice in splendor of mine own_."

The fifteen-year-old rolled his eyes again, and they exited the stage to get ready for the next scene.

"Be careful, or some people might think you're actually in love." Roxas remarked to the older boy as they walked off stage.

"When given a part, I must play it." Axel said. He added, "Even if the part I'm playing is of a lovesick idiot."

"_I'd rather have him be a lovesick idiot than a womanizer who doesn't care how many hearts he breaks as long as he gets what he wants…"_ The younger boy thought somberly.

…

"Nikki, Kairi, you two are up next after the intermission." Sandy called out.

"Okay." Nikki called back. She turned around and looked at Kairi.

"How does my costume look?" Kairi asked, twirling around in her nurse's outfit, which was plain compared to Nikki's.

"Better than mine." Nikki said, chuckling a little. "The hem seems a little off, though. Let's go take it to Maggie so she can fix it real quick."

"Oh, is it?" The redhead asked, trying to find the fault in her dress. After going around in a circle trying to find it, she stopped and shrugged.

"Only a little. Maggie'll fix it in no time." Nikki said, and she and Kairi walked over to the dressing rooms to find the pink-loving fashionista.

Meanwhile, the extras were getting ready for the upcoming ball scene. Four of the girls had just arrived, having returned from a dance class, and were heading for the dressing room.

"You girls look thirsty," A female voice cooed as they approached the backstage door. "Would you like something to drink?"

The girls stopped in their tracks at the voice, and turned around to see a group of girls standing behind them with glasses of lemonade in their hands.

The strange girls were dressed in all black; black sweaters, black pants, gloves, and black boots with moderately-sized heels, along with sunglasses - which was odd since it was past sundown - and black scarves covering their hair. Despite the head covering, some strands of blonde hair were visible.

At first, the extras were skeptical…

"That lemonade isn't high in sugar, is it?" One of the girls asked.

… but not for the reason they should have been..

"Of course not." That mysterious female that spoke earlier assured, her voice sweet and tempting. "This lemonade is sugar-free."

"Sugar-free?" Another girl said. "In that case, I'll have some. I am so thirsty~!"

"I don't know…" A third girl said skeptically. " My dad told me never to take drinks from strangers…"

"I don't care. I'm thirsty." The girl who complained about being thirsty declared as she took a glass of lemonade from one of the black-clad girls. She took a sip of the drink and smacked her lips a couple times before letting out an 'mmm' sound.

"Is it okay?" The first girl asked.

"Yeah." Said the thirsty girl. "It's fine. And it's delicious!"

"Well… I am pretty thirsty…" The skeptic girl admitted, taking a glass.

The other two girls also took a glass of lemonade for themselves, and as they drank, the girl who offered them the liquid watched them as her lips curled into a devious smirk.

…

The next scene was Juliet's room in the Capulet house.

Lady Capulet storms in, asking the nurse, played by Kairi, where her daughter Juliet, played by Nikki, was. Nikki appeared after Kairi started calling her, and when she arrived, her mother started talking about her age. This led to talk of marriage.

"_Tell me, daughter Juliet,_" Said Lady Capulet."_how stands your disposition to be married?_"

"_Never in a million years."_ Nikki thought angrily. She would have said that out loud, but she had a part to play. Instead, she said, "_It is an honour that I dream not of_."

"_An honour!_" Kairi exclaimed."_Were not I thine only nurse, I would say thou hadst suck'd wisdom from thy teat_."

"_Well, think of marriage now; younger than you, here in Verona, ladies of esteem, are made already mothers: by my count, I was your mother much upon these years that you are now a maid._" Lady Capulet said."_Thus then in brief: The valiant Paris seeks you for his love_."

"_A man, young lady! lady, such a man as all the world-why, he's a man of wax_." Kairi mused, pretending to swoon.

"_Verona's summer hath not such a flower_." Lady Capulet mused as well.

"_Nay, he's a flower; in faith, a very flower_."

As Nikki listened to them, she fought the urge to roll her eyes, thinking, _"A flower is an odd way to describe a man. Pfft. Like I'd marry a guy that women compare to a 'flower..'"_

…

Four black-clad girls, after poisoning four of the female extras, made their way to the dressing rooms, where four dresses were waiting on a rack. One by one, they plucked the dresses off their hangers and retreated into open dressing rooms, which consisted of little rooms sealed off with curtains. The other extras were already dressed and were waiting backstage for their cues, leaving the dressing room empty.

"This plan is foolproof~!" Monique sang as she exited the dressing room in her new dress, the curtains flaring as she walked out. "The best way to sabotage a play is to do it from the inside."

"I don't know about this." Said one of the cheerleaders. "What if we get found out?"

"Yeah." Another cheerleader agreed. "What if those girls talk?"

"We don't have to worry about them." Monique assured. "The 'special ingredient' I put in their lemonade was very potent. They'll be too busy throwing up to tell anybody anything. They don't even know what we look like, anyway. We were wearing disguises, remember? Even if they did talk, no one will be able to figure out it was us. And if anybody _does_ talk… well, you know what we do with snitches, right?"

The three other cheerleaders nodded as their leader cackled sadistically.

"Enough chit-chat." The blonde barked. "The ball scene is coming up, and we all know what will happen…"

"Romeo and Juliet kiss?"

"Exactly!" Monique said. "Axel is _mine_, and I'll be _damned_ if he kisses anyone else _but_ me! Even if we have to run the play into the ground, we have to stop that kiss at all costs! You got that? Axel and Nikki MUST NOT KISS!"

The other cheerleaders agreed with her again, frightened by the malicious gleam in her eyes.

But they weren't the only ones that were frightened.

Demyx had just gone to get something to drink, briefly leaving backstage to get some soda from a vending machine. When he returned, he walked past the dressing rooms and froze when he heard Axel's ex-girlfriend talking. He had caught them just in time for the girls to exit the dressing rooms, and stayed around the corner and out of sight as he listened in on their conversation. His eyes widened as he heard the words 'special ingredient' and 'sabotage.'

"_Monique's gonna sabotage the play! I have to do something! I gotta tell somebody!"_ He moved to run away, but stopped when he heard her mention what happens to 'snitches' and started shivering, biting his nails._ "Wait a minute… i-if the cheerleaders find out, they'll… they'll… I don't know what they'll do! But I can't let them get away with this! I can't let them sabotage the play just because Monique's obsessed with Axel! Still… Monique is scary…"_

"Here's what we'll do. We'll attach these bars of wax to our shoes. These dresses are long enough to cover them up. We'll slide our feet along the floor, and cover as much of stage as possible. If we play our cards right, Nikki will fall and get a little 'injury,' and Mr. Fisher will have no choice but to make me Juliet! I am so brilliant~!"

Demyx took a peak around the corner to look at the cheerleaders, and then looked back towards the backstage door. He felt so conflicted. He was caught between doing the right thing and keeping his mouth shut out of fear of what the cheerleaders might do to him if he talked.

"_Oh, man… What am I gonna do?"_

…

"_What say you?_" Lady Capulet asked her daughter._ "Can you love the gentleman? This night you shall behold him at our feast; Read o'er the volume of young Paris' face, and find delight writ there with beauty's pen; Examine every married lineament, and see how one another lends content and what obscured in this fair volume lies find written in the margent of his eyes. This precious book of love, this unbound lover, to beautify him, only lacks a cover: The fish lives in the sea, and 'tis much pride for fair without the fair within to hide: That book in many's eyes doth share the glory, that in gold clasps locks in the golden story; So shall you share all that he doth possess, by having him, making yourself no less_."

" _No less!_" Kairi exclaimed._ "nay, bigger; women grow by men_."

"_Speak briefly, can you like of Paris' love?_" Asked her mother.

Nikki pretended to think about it, then sighed. "_I'll look to like, if looking liking move: But no more deep will I endart mine eye than your consent gives strength to make it fly_."

Lady Capulet seemed pleased with her response, for she did not press the subject further. It was then that a servant appeared, and said to the Lady, "_Madam, the guests are come, supper served up, you called, my young lady asked for, the nurse cursed in the pantry, and every thing in extremity. I must hence to wait; I beseech you, follow straight_."

Lady Capulet nodded. "_We follow thee_." She said, and the servant left. The Lady turned to Nikkki."_Juliet, the county stays_."

"_Go, girl,_" Kairi urged her, pushing her out the door."_seek happy nights to happy days_."

"Ow! Easy, Kairi! You'll make me trip!" Nikki whispered harshly as she was being pushed off stage, covering her microphone with her hand so the audience wouldn't hear.

…

"Sandy, we have a problem." Ven said as he approached Sandy backstage.

"What's wrong, Ven?" She asked.

"Some of the girls got sick."

"What?" Sandy exclaimed. "What do you mean they got sick?"

Ven shrugged. "I don't know how it happened. They just… got sick."

"I would go see what's wrong, but I have to keep an eye on the play." She said, gesturing to the acting going on on the other side of the curtain. "Go talk to those girls and try and find out what happened."

"Right-o." Ven saluted her.

Following Sandy's order, Ven made his way out of the auditorium and to the bathroom. The door to the girl's bathroom was closed, and he could hear groaning and heaving sounds on the other side. Pushing the door aside, he entered the girl's bathroom. It was forbidden territory, since he was a boy, but the stage manager gave him a job to do.

Four girls were hunched on the bathroom floor, clutching their stomachs and groaning as if they were dying. There was one other girl in the bathroom with them, looking after the sick girls. As soon as she saw Ven, she yelled, "Hey! No boys in the girls' bathroom! Get out of here!"

"The stage manager sent me." Ven said.

"Couldn't she have sent somebody else?" The girl asked.

"Everyone else is busy." He said simply. He looked at the girls. "What's wrong with them?"

"I have no idea. They were perfectly fine a few minutes ago."

"Oooohh, my stomach…" One of the sick girls groaned, holding her stomach.

"I think I'm gonna…" The second girl began, but she was cut off as she made a wretching noise and she covered her mouth, getting up and running into a bathroom stall to vomit.

"I know you guys are feeling bad right now, but I need you to tell me what you remember doing before you got sick." Ven said.

"We didn't really do anything." Said the first girl. "We were just getting ready for the next scene."

"Yeah," Said a third girl. "and then these girls offered us some lemonade."

"Oh yeah. That too."

Ven raised an eyebrow. "Really?" He asked. "What did they look like?"

…

"How'd it go?" Sandy asked when Ven returned.

"They said that four girls dressed in black offered them lemonade while they were getting ready for the play. I think that's what made them sick." Ven said.

"They had no idea who those girls were, and yet they drank the lemonade." The redheaded female face-palmed. "God, doesn't anybody have common sense anymore? Whatever happened to 'don't take anything from strangers?'"

"Apparently they were too thirsty to care."

"Figures." Sandy grumbled. "Did they say what the girls looked like?"

Ven shook his head. "No. They couldn't see what they looked like because they were wearing all black."

"That helps a lot…" Sandy muttered sarcastically. Then she put a hand to her chin. "There's definitely something fishy going on…"

…

The stage was set up for an elaborate ball, with fancy decorations, lights, music, and the guests wearing their best clothes and masks on their faces. Axel, Roxas, Sora (playing the part of Mercutio), and several others had snuck into the Capulet house. They all wore masks as they snuck into the hall, where others had gathered. Lord Capulet soon entered the scene, along with other members of his house, including Nikki (or Juliet). He greeted his guests enthusiastically, and urged the musicians to play and the people to dance.

Monique and her small troupe of cheerleaders, in their disguises, also snuck onto the stage. In order to stop Axel and Nikki from being in contact with each other, she urged some of the male extras to dance with her. This led to the brunette being confused as hell at being asked to dance so many times, and if this was part of the play; since she had never even read it before the audition. Some she could decline, but others were so persistent that she had no choice.

In the meantime, they had carried out their plan of waxing the floors using their feet, covering nearly the entire stage in wax. Plenty of people fell, but none of them were the intended target. Monique's target was Nikki. If she were to fall badly enough, then the resulting injury would mean that she would no longer be able to play her part as Juliet; therefore, forfeiting the role to the blonde. Nikki _had_ fallen over a few times, but someone always managed to serve as a cushion to soften her fall.

The audience didn't think anything was amiss when people started falling. In fact, they laughed a little when the actors fell, thinking it was all part of the play and they were pretending to have drunk too much wine.

The whole night, Axel had been looking for his 'love,' Rosaline, trying to get a glimpse of her. But to no avail; he could not find her. His friend had encouraged him to come to this get-together and judge his 'love's beauty against the other women of Verona, in hopes of finding a new 'love.' There were many beautiful women at the party, as Roxas said, but none of them could compare to the beauty of the fair Rosaline. He couldn't bring himself to 'love' another woman, not when his 'love' for Rosaline was so powerful.

But what's this?

He spotted a fair maid hanging on the arm of another gentleman, and felt his heart jump at the sight of her.

He approached a nearby serving man. "_What lady is that, which doth enrich the hand of yonder knight?_" He asked, pointing to the girl.

"_I know not, sir_." The servant said, shaking his head.

"_O, she doth teach the torches to burn bright!_" Axel exclaimed in awe."_It seems she hangs upon the cheek of night like a rich jewel in an Ethiope's ear; beauty too rich for use, for earth too dear! So shows a snowy dove trooping with crows, as yonder lady o'er her fellows shows. The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand, and, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night_."

At the sound of the familiar and hated voice, Riku, who was on the other side of the room, jumped at attention.

"_This, by his voice, should be a Montague_." He growled. He turned to his Page and ordered,"_Fetch me my rapier, boy. What dares the slave come hither, cover'd with an antic face, to fleer and scorn at our solemnity? Now, by the stock and honour of my kin, to strike him dead, I hold it not a sin_."

…

"Did you find anything out yet?" Sandy asked one of the stagehands. She was still trying to get to the bottom of what had happened. She had several people looking into it.

"We still haven't found the people responsible for poisoning those girls." Said the stagehand.

"But I took an inventory of all the costumes, and four of the dresses are gone." Maggie flailed her arms around frantically. "I worked on those dresses for a week, and now they're gone! Someone stole them!"

"Their dresses are gone?" Sandy said. "Where did they go? Who took them?"

"That's just it." Said Ven. "We don't know."

"It was probably the same people who gave the extras that poisoned lemonade.." Sandy rubbed her chin with her hand thoughtfully. "The question is… who would do something like that?"

"The only people I can think of is the cheerleaders." Ven said. "They're the only ones with a motive."

"The _cheerleaders_?" Sandy scoffed. "Yeah right. I can't speak for all cheerleaders, but the ones we got are all a bunch of empty-headed Barbie-doll-wannabes that are obsessed with looks, shopping, popularity, and being complete bitches to anyone that doesn't fit their standards. This seems too well planned out to have been done by the _cheerleaders_, of all people."

"But-"

"I don't know, hon. I agree with Sandy on this one." Maggie agreed with the redhead. "Even if it was the cheerleaders, we have no proof that they did anything."

"I'll find the proof myself, then!" The boy declared. He stormed away from the girls, determined to find the proof for himself. He headed for the dressing room and grabbed a spare costume.

"_I have to find Roxas. Maybe he'll believe me."_

…

With sword in hand, Riku stormed across the floor, looking for Axel so he could slay him and redeem the honor of the Capulet house, which that villain so blatantly disrespected by showing his face at their party. He paused briefly when he felt his feet slip along the floor, but paid no mind to it and moved on. He walked right by his uncle, Lord Capulet, who stopped him.

"_Why, how now, kinsman! wherefore storm you so?_" Capulet asked.

"_Uncle, this is a Montague, our foe, a villain that is hither come in spite, to scorn at our solemnity this night_." Riku said, pointing his sword in the direction of the voice.

"_Young Romeo is it?_"

"_'Tis he, that villain Romeo_."

Lord Capulet tried to calm the youth down by patting him on the shoulder. "_Content thee, gentle coz, let him alone; he bears him like a portly gentleman; and, to say truth, Verona brags of him to be a virtuous and well-govern'd youth. I would not for the wealth of all the town here in my house do him disparagement. Therefore be patient, take no note of him. It is my will, the which if thou respect, show a fair presence and put off these frowns, and ill-beseeming semblance for a feast_."

"_It fits, when such a villain is a guest. I'll not endure him_."

"_He shall be endured._" Capulet growled demandingly. "_What, goodman boy! I say, he shall: go to; am I the master here, or you? go to. You'll not endure him! God shall mend my soul! You'll make a mutiny among my guests! You will set cock-a-hoop! you'll be the man!_"

"_Why, uncle, 'tis a shame_."

"_Go to, go to; You are a saucy boy: is't so, indeed? This trick may chance to scathe you, I know what. You must contrary me! marry, 'tis time._" Capulet turned to the guests and cheered,"_Well said, my hearts!_" He turned back to Riku and shooed him away."_You are a princox; go. Be quiet, or-" _He turned to the guests again. "_More light, more light! For shame!_" He turned to Riku again, scolding him as if he was a child. "_I'll make you quiet. What, cheerly, my hearts!_"

As much as he disapproved of his uncle's decision, he had no choice but to submit to his wishes. "_Patience perforce with wilful choler meeting makes my flesh tremble in their different greeting. I will withdraw._" Riku growled, sheathing his sword bitterly. "_But this intrusion shall now seeming sweet convert to bitter gall_."

With that, he exited the room; before his boiling rage could get too out of control.

But on his way off stage, he slipped and fell, causing the audience to laugh.

…

"Riku!" Sandy exclaimed. "Are you okay?"

"What the hell?" Riku cursed as he was helped up by Sandy. He rubbed his sore butt. "Stupid floor…"

"What's wrong with the floor?"

"It's slippery as hell, that's what's wrong with it." Riku said. "Ever since we started this damn scene, people have been slipping and falling all over the place."

"I think that someone might be trying to sabotage the play." Sandy said. "I've been getting this funny feeling ever since those girls got sick."

"Really?" Riku asked. "Sabotage? But who would do that?"

"Ven thinks it might be the cheerleaders."

"The cheerleaders? But those girls are-"

"Idiots, I know. But he seemed really sure of himself.."

…

"Psst! … Psst! Hey, Roxas!"

Roxas paused at the voice whispering his name and looked around the stage. No one on stage was calling him, but he knew that he wasn't hearing things. He continued to look around, stopping when he saw his twin brother's face poking out from behind one of the background pieces. Ven waited for some people to pass by before he used them as a cover to slip onto the stage. Once on stage, he made his way to his brother. On the way, he slipped on the floor, and would have fallen if Roxas hadn't caught him.

"Ven?" Roxas exclaimed, covering his mic. "What are you doing here?"

"I think the cheerleaders are trying to sabotage the play. But no one will believe me!"

"The cheerleaders? Sabotaging the play?" Roxas asked disbelievingly. "You can't be serious, Ven. I've met those girls before. They're a bunch of morons."

"You sound just like Sandy and Maggie." Ven grumbled, scowling. "They don't believe me either."

"Why would the cheerleaders want to sabotage the play?" Roxas asked.

"I don't know!" Ven exclaimed. "That's what I'm trying to find out! And what's with the floor? It's so slippery.."

"No idea." Said Roxas. "But people have been slipping and falling down ever since the scene started. I almost fell a few times."

"Come on, Roxas." Ven said. "You told me yourself how badly Monique reacted when Axel dumped her. She's gone completely crazy! And she and Nikki have been going at it for years! Is the idea of Monique sabotaging the play so she can get Nikki out of the picture really _that_ far-fetched?"

"Well…" Roxas said, a little unsure. "She did take it really hard…"

"So you believe me, then?" Ven asked eagerly.

"… I believe you, Ven." Roxas said, and his brother beamed. "But there's still no proof."

"We'll find proof. They may have covered their tracks pretty well this time, but they'll slip up sooner or later…"

…

Axel made his way across the stage to approach Nikki, nearly falling forward and onto his face when his foot suddenly hit a slippery spot on the floor. He managed to catch himself before he fell, and he examined the slightly shiny surface as his eyebrows furrowed.

"_What the hell was that?"_ He thought. _"Is that wax? But the floor was buffed hours ago…"_

The redhead was suspicious, but he decided to let it go. He continued his walk over to Nikki, making sure to watch his step, and approached her, grabbing her hand and taking her by surprise.

"_If I profane with my unworthiest hand this holy shrine, the gentle fine is this: My lips, two blushing pilgrims, ready stand to smooth that rough touch with a tender kiss_." He whispered sweetly, taking his other hand, the one that wasn't holding hers, and caressing her hand slowly.

"_Good pilgrim,_" She said kindly."_you do wrong your hand too much, which mannerly devotion shows in this; For saints have hands that pilgrims' hands do touch, and palm to palm is holy palmers' kiss_."

"_Have not saints lips, and holy palmers too?_" He asked.

"_Ay, pilgrim, lips that they must use in prayer_."

"_O, then, dear saint, let lips do what hands do._" He whispered, lacing their fingers together."_They pray, grant thou, lest faith turn to despair_."

"_Saints do not move, though grant for prayers' sake_." She said.

"_Oh no…" _Nikki thought somberly, knowing full well what was coming next. _"Here it comes…"_

"_Then move not, while my prayer's effect I take._" He said, pressing their lips together before she could react.

On the inside, Nikki was panicking. That dreaded moment had finally come. His lips were on hers; his filthy, disgusting lips were touching her, and there was nothing she could do about it. She hated it. There was nothing in this kiss; no love, no feeling; just empty and full of nothing but lust, like all the other kisses she had shared with other guys.

"_This can't be happening…"_ She thought. _"It has to be some kind of horrible nightmare… there's no way this can be real…"_

She kept her lips and eyes tightly shut, shuddering in disgust when he put a hand on her cheek and attempted to deepen the kiss by running his tongue along her lips. Her hand was trembling as she was fighting the urge to slap him in the face as hard as she could.

The kiss seemed to last for an eternity; a horrible, painful eternity, but in reality it only lasted a few seconds.

…

On the other side of the stage, Monique stared at the scene with wide, horrified eyes as her ex was locking lips with the girl she hated with a passion. She and her cheerleaders had waxed nearly the entire stage, and everything seemed to work for a little while, but in the end it was all for nothing. The kiss still happened, despite their efforts. Horror turned to anger and she was ready to lunge at the brunette, but the other cheerleaders held her back and discreetly carried her off stage.

"Let me at her!" Monique shrieked. "Let me at her! I'll kill her!"

"Monique, there's nothing you can do!" One of the cheerleaders tried to calm her down. "The kiss is just part of the play. It's part of a major plot point! We couldn't stop it no matter how hard we tried!"

"Fine.." The blonde breathed, and she motioned for them to release her; which they did. "You're right. We can't do anything about it now. But mark my words, this isn't over! There are still five more acts, which means that there are five more opportunities for sabotage."

She stared at the two actors on stage, who had just kissed, with pure anger in her eyes. Those same eyes were calculating as she came up with a new plan.

"We're not through yet…"

…

"_Thus from my lips, by yours, my sin is purged_." Axel said as he pulled away.

"_Then have my lips the sin that they have took_." She said.

"_Sin from thy lips?_" He said."_O trespass sweetly urged! Give me my sin again_."

He kissed her again, and Nikki experienced the same repulsion that she felt during the first kiss.

"_You kiss by the book_." Nikki pointed out, resisting the urge to wipe her mouth.

"_Madam,_" Kairi suddenly appeared, looking and sounding out of breath; as if she had been looking for her all night."_your mother craves a word with you_."

Nikki took her chance and pushed herself away from Axel.

"_What is her mother?_" Axel asked.

"_Marry, bachelor, her mother is the lady of the house, and a good lady, and a wise and virtuous._" Kairi said, speaking fondly of her Lady."_I nursed her daughter, that you talk'd withal; I tell you, he that can lay hold of her shall have the chinks_."

The redheaded male gasped. "_Is she a Capulet?_" He whispered to himself."_O dear account! my life is my foe's debt_."

It was then that Roxas had snuck up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. He whispered to his friend, "_Away, begone; the sport is at the best_."

For good measure, the young male tugged on the older one's tunic to urge him to leave.

"_Ay,_" Axel agreed."_so I fear; the more is my unrest_."

The two turned to leave, and were heading towards the door when Lord Capulet stopped them and begged them not to leave. His attitude changed when they whispered who they were into his ear, and at that the older man let them leave without causing a fuss. Capulet then remarked on how late it was and headed off to retire, urging his guests to do the same.

Soon everyone was gone but Nikki and Kairi.

"_Come hither, nurse._" Nikki beckoned her over."_What is yond gentleman?_" She pointed to a man leaving.

"_The son and heir of old Tiberio_." Said Kairi.

Nikki pointed to another man. "_What's he that now is going out of door?_"

Kairi squinted to get a better look, and replied, "_Marry, that, I think, be young Petrucio_."

"_What's he that follows there, that would not dance?_" The brunette asked, pointing to one the two men heading for the door.

The redheaded female shrugged. "_I know not_."

"_Go ask his name._" Nikki ordered, and Kairi nodded before she left to go find out."_If he be married, my grave is like to be my wedding bed_."

"_His name is Romeo, and a Montague._" The redheaded nurse said upon her return."_The only son of your great enemy_."

"_My only love sprung from my only hate!_" Nikki exclaimed."_Too early seen unknown, and known too late! Prodigious birth of love it is to me, that I must love a loathed enemy_."

"_What's this? what's this?_" Kairi asked, referring to what the brunette just said.

Nikki waved her hand dismissively. "_A rhyme I learn'd even now of one I danced withal_." She lied.

Suddenly they heard someone calling "Juliet!" off stage.

"_Anon, anon!_" Kairi called back."_Come, let's away; the strangers all are gone_."

The two females exited the stage, and the audience applauded as the curtain closed. Act I of the play was now over, and the audience was filing out of the auditorium as the actors were changing back into their normal clothes backstage.

"Sandy, can you get me a damp cloth, please?" Nikki requested. When Sandy gave her a confused look, she added, "_Now_, please. And put soap on it."

The redhead gave her a look, but did as she requested nonetheless. She returned shortly with a damp, soapy cloth, and Nikki took it and used it to wipe her mouth. Even though the kiss was very brief, and his tongue never entered her mouth - even though it tried to - she still scrubbed her tongue vigorously, not caring if the soap left a bad taste. She wiped her lips, and wrapped the cloth around her finger so she could scrub the inside of her mouth. Sandy offered her a drink of water, which she took, and she swished it around in her mouth before spitting it out in the nearest drinking fountain.

"Do you feel better now?" Sandy asked.

"I think so." Said Nikki. "That was _awful_. It wasn't even awkward! There was _nothing_ in that kiss at all. It was just… I don't even know how to describe it."

"It was that bad?"

"…" Nikki nodded.

"It'll be alright." Her friend assured. "Once this play is done and over with, you'll never have to kiss him again. Now come on. It's been a long night. Let's get you out of that dress, okay?"

The brunette nodded again, and she went over to the dressing room to get changed.

In the meantime, the boys had already changed back into their normal clothes. Zexion's character had not yet appeared, so he was free to watch the show from the audience, and Demyx had his job backstage. They met up with Axel and Roxas after the play.

"I don't understand it." Axel said as he exited his dressing room, fixing his shirt. "That kiss should have worked.. What went wrong?"

"Maybe it's a sign that you can't make every girl fall for you." Roxas said. "You should just give up on Nikki and move on to some other girl before you do something stupid and get yourself killed."

"Roxas is right." Zexion agreed. "Maybe it's time to move on to someone else - or just give up on this whole 'player' thing altogether. That sounds better."

But Axel didn't seem to be listening. He just stood there, his hand on his chin as he was in deep thought. "Something's not right…" He muttered to himself.

Zexion's eye twitched. "Are you even listening?"

"Axel.." Roxas said, noticing that the redhead wasn't paying attention. "Are you okay?"

The question managed to snap him out of his thoughts, for he looked at the younger boy and said, "Yeah, Roxas. I'm fine."

"Oh. Okay. Well, wanna go downtown for some ice cream?"

"You guys go on ahead." Axel said. "I'll catch up with you."

Roxas frowned, sensing something was wrong. But he let it go and said, "Okay. Don't take too long, though."

"Alright."

Roxas nodded, and he, Zexion, and Demyx left, and soon Axel was alone as everyone else left as well. He walked over to a nearby mirror, leaning on the vanity so he could get a closer look at his face, and touched his lips with his hand.

"I don't understand it." He said to no one in particular. "The kiss should have worked. Why didn't it work?"

He thought about it for a second.

"Ah, I know. The kiss didn't work because I had to hold myself back for the sake of the play; I couldn't kiss her like I wanted to because there were a lot of people watching. I guess I didn't foresee that setback when I came up with this plan.. That's weird. Usually, I think of everything. But even a kiss like _that_," referring to the chaste kiss he shared with Nikki during the ball scene, "should have been enough.. She's got impressive will-power, I'll give her that."

"_I can't shake this feeling, though."_ He thought. _"It's weird. I can't stop thinking about how it felt. Her lips were so soft, and warm. And sweet. Just thinking about it makes me feel… weird…"_

Axel sat there silently for a moment before he waved it off.

"Eh. It's probably nothing."

…

…

**Pervertido: **Pervert

**Je vous prie de m'excuser, ma dame**: I apologize, my lady

**Burro:** Jackass

**Sí: Yes**


End file.
